Day: August 6, 2024

Harris: And The Winner Is

First let us begin with the nomination….it is official VP Harris will be the Dems nominee….

Vice President Kamala Harris, a daughter of immigrants who rose through the California political and law enforcement ranks to become the first female vice president in US history, formally secured the Democratic presidential nomination on Monday—becoming the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, the AP reports. As soon as President Biden abruptly ended his candidacy, Harris and her team worked rapidly to secure backing from the 1,976 party delegates needed to clinch the nomination in a formal roll call vote. She reached that marker at warp speed, with an Associated Press survey of delegates nationwide showing she locked down the necessary commitments a mere 32 hours after Biden’s announcement.

Harris’ nomination became official after a five-day round of online balloting by Democratic National Convention delegates ended Monday night, with the party saying in a statement released just before midnight that 99% of delegates casting ballots had done so for Harris. The party had long contemplated the early virtual roll call to ensure Biden would appear on the ballot in every state. It said it would next formally certify the vote before holding a celebratory roll call at the party’s convention later this month in Chicago.

Now that is out of the way…..the next big step will be her second….

The entire nation has been holding our collective breath wait to see just who Harris will choose as her running mate…..I said it would be a some generic white white, someone with little to no baggage……and now we know who that mysterious person will be…..

Tim Walz….

Vice President Harris has chosen Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to be her running mate as she heads toward a November faceoff against former President Trump, she announced Tuesday.

Harris announced her choice of Walz in a post on Instagram and in a text message to supporters, praising his support for middle class families and his personal history serving in the National Guard and working as a teacher.

Walz, 60, emerged as a dark horse contender for the No. 2 slot as chatter over other high-profile names, in particular Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D), dominated the early portion of the veepstakes.

But the Minnesota governor saw his profile rise considerably over the past week, especially after a viral cable news interview in which he derided some Republicans as “weird” — a line of attack later adopted by national Democrats.

Walz was also seen by many as a safer choice for Harris thanks to his liberal bona fides and the fact that some of the other contenders had come under fire from certain segments of the left. Shapiro received heavy scrutiny recently over his response to pro-Palestinian protests that emerged in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, and both he and Kelly drew the ire of union leaders.

(thehill.com)

I will say he makes a good speech….plus he is from Minnesota a liberal state….a veteran…..and a family man….so he ticked many of the boxes….and now he be the VP nominee.

I am sure I will have more to say the more I learn about this guy…..so stay tuned.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Google: Slip Slidin’ Away

Bam!

A Landmark anti-trust court decision has dropped the hammer on Google.

Let’s look at the decision and what it could mean….

In a seismic decision that could shake up the internet and hobble one of the world’s best-known companies, a judge ruled Monday that Google’s ubiquitous search engine has been illegally exploiting its dominance to squash competition and stifle innovation. The highly anticipated decision issued by US District Judge Amit Mehta comes nearly a year after the start of a trial pitting the Justice Department against Google in the country’s biggest antitrust showdown in a quarter century, the AP reports. After reviewing reams of evidence that included testimony from top executives at Google, Microsoft, and Apple during last year’s 10-week trial, Mehta issued his potentially market-shifting decision three months after the two sides presented their closing arguments in early May.

  • Major setback for Google. The decision represents a major setback for Google and its parent, Alphabet Inc., which had steadfastly argued that its popularity stemmed from consumers’ overwhelming desire to use a search engine so good at what it does that it has become synonymous with looking things up online.
  • Appeal is almost certain. Google will almost certainly appeal the decision in a process that may ultimately land in the US Supreme Court. For now, the decision vindicates antitrust regulators at the Justice Department, which filed its lawsuit nearly four years ago while Donald Trump was still president, and has been escalating its efforts to rein in Big Tech’s power during President Biden’s administration.
  • Google depicted as bully. The case depicted Google as a technological bully that methodically has thwarted competition to protect a search engine that has become the centerpiece of a digital advertising machine that generated nearly $240 billion in revenue last year. Justice Department lawyers argued that Google’s monopoly enabled it to charge advertisers artificially high prices while also enjoying the luxury of having to invest more time and money into improving the quality of its search engine—a lax approach that hurt consumers.
  • Next steps. Mehta’s conclusion that Google has been running an illegal monopoly sets up another legal phase to determine what sorts of changes or penalties should be imposed to reverse the damage done and restore a more competitive landscape. The potential outcome could result in a wide-ranging order requiring Google to dismantle some of the pillars of its internet empire or prevent it from shelling out more than $20 billion annually to ensure its search engine automatically answers queries on the iPhone and other internet-connected devices. It’s also possible that the judge could conclude only modest changes are required to level the playing field.

Whatcha think?

Will this change anything or not?

Will Zuck be next?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”