It’s been less than two weeks since President Joe Biden addressed the nation and revealed his decision to withdraw from the 2024 election. What a difference a fortnight makes, eh?
But while most of the media will focus on the horse race aspect of this year’s “new and improved” presidential election, I think it makes sense to pause for a moment and consider the record of Joseph R. Biden, the 46th (and still current) President of the United States of America.
He laid it out quite nicely in his speech:
Today, we have the strongest economy in the world, creating nearly 16 million new jobs — a record. Wages are up, inflation continues to come down, the racial wealth gap is the lowest it’s been in 20 years. We’re literally rebuilding our entire nation, urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities. Manufacturing has come back to America.
We’re leading the world again in chips and science and innovation. We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years, to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, and I’m going to keep fighting to make sure we lower the cost for everyone, not just seniors.
More people have health care today in America than ever before. And I signed one of the most significant laws helping millions of veterans and their families who were exposed to toxic materials. You know, the most significant climate law ever, ever in the history of the world, the first major gun safety law in 30 years. And today, violent crime rate is at a 50-year low.
We’re also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office. And I’ve kept my commitment to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I also kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America and be a president for all Americans.
Yes, he’s fading a bit these days. Show me another 81-year-old with a schedule as mentally, physically and emotionally demanding as his. But it’s clear from the facts above (facts, not claims) that “Sleepy Joe” was never asleep at the switch. Heck, strip his name from his record and show it to most Americans and they’d vote for that person for president in a heartbeat.
If you want to blindly follow the world’s biggest bloviator, that seems weird to me, but you’re free to do so (for now… Day 1 Dictator plans to gut a lot of our freedoms, including voting. ). But I’ll take a strong record of productivity over the cult of personality all day, every day.
America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy? In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. Can we do that? Does character in public life still matter?
I believe you know the answer to these questions because I know you, the American people, and I know this, we are a great nation because we are a good people.
Despite the loud protests from my aching knees (damn you, Pickleball addiction!), I’ll be biking 24 miles in the Ride Cincinnati event in mid-September.
Ride Cincinnati is a grassroots bike tour that raises money for life-saving cancer research and care. Since 2007, Ride Cincinnati has raised over $6.6 million for vital cancer research at the University of Cincinnati’s Barrett Cancer Center.
I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d make a donation to support my efforts.
As you can see, at present, I’m woefully short of my fundraising goal. (Let’s hope I ride better than I raise money…)
Your hard-earned cash will be going to a great cause.
The Ride Cincinnati organizers have encouraged riders to share their “why” – their motivation for participating in the event. I think I covered most of my “why” in yesterday’s post about my dear friend LJ, who currently is battling brain cancer.
LJ is getting great care. Thanks to my neighbors Whit and Barb, he and his wife Patty were even able to consult with Dr. Bill Barrett, the medical director of the Barrett Cancer Center, about their treatment plan, and he said they were doing all the right things.
But not everyone has those connections. And overall, our fair city could use some help in achieving a National Cancer Institute designation, which would unlock millions more in research funding.
Currently, the Greater Cincinnati area lacks a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. This prestigious designation signifies a center of excellence, offering patients throughout the tri-state access to the latest research and treatment options. Without one, many residents are forced to travel far from home for critical care. Ride Cincinnati is on a mission to change that.
My “why” also includes my mother-in-law Gloria, who passed from cancer last year… and my own mother, who died of leukemia 56 years ago. We’ve made great progress in the past half-century, but more work lies ahead.
Your donation is tax-deductible. But more importantly, if you donate to support me in Ride Cincinnati, we all win something much more precious than money. We win more days, weeks, months…. even years… with the ones we love who are battling cancer.
Thanks for reading. Thanks for your support. I’m going to make you proud in the ride.
Here’s a photo from my friend John’s 60th birthday celebration back in March:
The folks in the photo (L to R: Art, Sheila, Patty, BD Boy John, Suzanne, Phil, and yours truly) all went to Xavier waaay back in the 80s. (Hence the “X” poses.) It’s where we met – and in the case of Patty & John and Suzanne & Phil, it’s where they fell in love. (Art and Sheila both went to X at the same time, but didn’t connect until after we graduated.)
Hard to believe we’ve been friends for more than 40 years now. And in those 40 years, I think I’ve called John by his real name only a handful of times. An upperclassman dubbed him “Loew Junior” because he looked like another Muskie named Loew (or Lowe… not sure… it’s been a minute) and that quickly morphed into “LJ” and that nickname stuck, as college nicknames tend to do. Heck, at this point, when someone calls him “John” it throws me for a loop.
Here’s a photo from a very different celebration for LJ yesterday:
He just finished 30 rounds of radiation for brain cancer. Patty invited his friends — including his XU buddies who served as his “Uber drivers” to get him to several of the appointments (Art, Phil, Tom, Brian and me) — to be there when he rang the bell to mark the completion of treatment.
Here’s what we know:
LJ had a tumor in his left frontal lobe. He was diagnosed in May when it started impacting his speech. Doctors removed the tumor.
The form of cancer he has is aggressive.
They’ll do another MRI in a month, and map out next steps based on results.
Cancer sucks!
Here’s what we don’t know:
What the future holds.
Here’s what else we know:
LJ is in great shape.
He has a positive attitude.
He has a family that loves him… and grandkids who adore him.
His faith is strong.
His support network is deep and wide — relatives, neighborhood friends, church friends, even a bunch of knuckleheads from college.
[Phil, LJ, Brian, Dubbatrubba, and Art – Uber driver Tom wasn’t able to attend, but his wife Jodi was there.]
LJ’s world was turned upside-down between his birthday party in March and his diagnosis in May. The blink of an eye for someone who is 60. The best of times; the worst of times.
If anyone can beat the odds — and people DO beat the odds — it’s LJ.
We hope. We pray. We believe in miracles. And we cherish the time we get to spend with him.
We don’t know what the future holds. That’s not just true for LJ. It’s true for all of us.
I love live music, but I’m not really a stadium tour kinda guy. I’ve really only been to two stadium concerts in my life – the first was in 1986 (I think) at Cleveland’s old Municipal Stadium to see The Who on the first of their gazillion “farewell” tours. The second was two nights ago – Foo Fighters at the Reds stadium. The opening acts were Mammoth – the band led by Wolfie Van Halen, son of Eddie and Valerie Bertinelli – and the Pretenders, a band I adore.
I wasn’t planning to attend – the ticket prices for those big shows are waaay too high to suit me. I’d rather spend $200 on eight $25 club shows. But my friend Paul had an extra ticket. And I’d always wanted to see the Foo Fighters live. How could I refuse?
Photo credit: Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer
I’m really glad I went. I see what all the Foo fuss is about. Dave Grohl is incredibly energetic and charismatic, his band mates are extremely talented, and they put on a heck of a show. Their song catalog is perfect for stadiums too – a lot of singalong anthems. I don’t know how Grohl is able to scream his way through two-and-a-half-hour shows on a regular basis. My vocal cords would be shredded into sawdust.
Photo credit: Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer
I have some high-fidelity noise-reducing earplugs (as a regular concert goer, I highly recommend them – here’s my brand) but didn’t bring them because I didn’t think I’d need them in an open-air stadium. I was wrong. It was LOUD.
The Foos hit the stage at 8 p.m. and wrapped up their main set at around 10:15, then came back for an encore. As my friend Paul said, “Now there’s a guy (Dave Grohl) who loves his job!”
Photo credit: Sam Greene, The Cincinnati Enquirer
It was really cool to see a show like that where 38,000 fans were singing along. But after the sun set, I found it hard to keep my eyes from straying from the band on stage to the giant TV screens to the left and right of the stage. It’s hard to not look… but then you’re essentially watching a show on TV vs. seeing a concert.
Net-net: I loved it and I’m really glad I got a chance to see them live. But I think I’ll go back to my club shows. Stadiums are cool, but I’m a “small ball” music dude at heart.
Kevin Sullivan on Life advice from a man who lived it: “A good one Damian. Bring our lens into focus after the long weekend or our long life journey.” Jul 7, 09:38
Thomas Kuhl on We’re alive, because nothing happened.: “That is why we should celebrate every day when our feet hit the floor. Another to enjoy and share with…” Jun 25, 04:33
Thomas Kuhl on We’re alive, because nothing happened.: “This simply explains why we should celebrate every day our feet hit the floor. Another day to enjoy and share…” Jun 25, 04:31
You done said…