Pressure saved the USPS blue mailboxes disappearing from street corners.
Have you seen Americans outside trying to hold down their neighborhood mailbox?
Special thanks to Montana Senator Jon Tester and concerned Americans for halting the removal of mailboxes at least 'til after the election.  
Time is short.  
Trump is trying to "kneecap the postal service."  
We want Congressional hearings now.

      Vote early---
      real early---    
       V O T E 
      as soon as you can.

Cardinals played 5 games before their coronavirus hiatus that began July 30th. Some teams will have played 21 games before Cardinals play their first in an aggressive schedule of seven inning doubleheaders with the teams they did not play for the duration of their covid-19 quarantine. Cardinals are in Chicago: doubleheader today against White Sox, and a three-game Cardinals home series coinciding with Cubs homestand series beginning Monday, August 17th. Cardinals will also play doubleheaders with Pirates and Twins and Tigers.

Just as MLB was getting through the scheduling hold-up with the Cardinals, a Reds player tested positive for covid-19 and the last two games of the series against the Pirates were postponed to allow for additional testing and to complete contact tracing.

For Pirates, this is the 2nd team to postpone due to covid-19 this week - their entire three-game series against the Cardinals was postponed earlier in the week.

Marlins and Phillies also have daunting schedules after their covid-19 outbreaks.  
Reds await their test results to know their fate.

More about voting.

Do you feel hesitant about voting in person due to COVID-19, but fear the United States Postal Service will be unable to deliver a mail-in ballot in a timely fashion?

SOLUTION:

1) Request a mail-in ballot.

2) Do NOT mail it.

3) Google your supervisor of elections to see where you can drop off your mail-in ballot. All states allow ballots to be dropped off. It's usually NOT THE POLLING PLACE.  
 

Here's what you will accomplish by following the steps above and the directions for voting by mail-in ballot in your state:

1) Your ballot will be where it needs to be no matter what happens to the USPS.    
2) You won't have to worry about standing in long lines and risking infection - all you have to do is stop briefly to drop off your ballot.   
3) You voted and your vote will be counted.

Be aware: some states have systems to track your ballot just like tracking a package. Check to know if your state has systems to track your ballot online to make sure it is verified.  
Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington among other states have these systems. Check to know if your state does too.

Americans' interest in voting is at an all time high.

Political conventions are made for TV,  
but there will be no balloons at this year's unconventional conventions.

Reporters love to talk with the candidates;   
Trump lies a lot, but he is accessible: reporters love him for that.    
Reporters wish Biden would talk with them more.

Trump supporters are everywhere, eager and ready to talk.

Tomorrow Trump will be in Mankato, Minnesota, and in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the kickoff of the Democratic National Convention. (His staff is assisting Kanye West to get his name on the presidential ballot in Wisconsin.)

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be in Wilmington, Delaware.    
 

My 16 going on 17 year-old granddaughter is working on a youth initiative to establish K-12 voter education throughout Wisconsin.

America WORST in the WORLD dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Americans are looking for a plan to get us out of the uniquely bad epidemic in the U.S.

Going back to school should not be a political issue.

Countries in many parts of the world are reinstating restrictions and masks - immediately - in the face of abrupt resurging covid-19 infections.

Have you heard the ruckus in Cleveland?    

Cleveland pitcher Plesac was sent back to Cleveland in a rental car when he was caught returning to the hotel after a night out in Chicago.  
Cleveland pitcher Clevinger, who had been out with Plesac, was not truthful, and boarded the plane back to Cleveland with the team.

The team was given the chance to scold Clevinger and Plesac...
not everyone on the team is accepting their apology and ready to move on...
Cleveland players are upset not only that Clevinger and Plesac broke protocol leaving the hotel, but also for the breach of trust about the incident, which includes an Instagram video made by Plesac.

Francisco Lindor, Cleveland's All-Star shortstop, issued a strong statement after his teammates broke team protocols:
  "WE HAVE TO SIT AND LOOK
   OURSELVES IN THE MIRROR. AND
   IT'S NOT ABOUT THE PERSON WE  
   SEE IN THE MIRROR. IT'S WHO'S
   BEHIND YOU. THE OTHER PEOPLE.    
   IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT ONE PERSON.    
   IT'S ABOUT EVERYBODY AROUND   
   YOU: THE FAMILY MEMBERS, THE
   COACHING STAFF, (CARLOS)
   CARRASCO, ALL THE PLAYERS ON
   TEAMS THAT ARE HIGH-RISK. WE'RE
   IN A TIME RIGHT NOW WITH COVID,   
   WITH RACISM, WITH EVERYTHING---
   THIS IS A TIME TO BE SELFLESS. THIS
   IS WHEN WE HAVE TO SIT BACK AND
   UNDERSTAND THIS IS NOT ABOUT
   ONE PERSON SPECIFICALLY. IT'S
   ABOUT EVERYBODY. IT'S ABOUT
   YOUR NEIGHBOR AND YOUR
   NEIGHBOR'S. IT'S NOT JUST YOU
   SPECIFICALLY."

Carlos Carrasco is considered high-risk for COVID-19 after battling leukemia last year.

The reality is we're drowning in lemons...
           the Democrats made lemonade tonight.

Leadership matters.

Michelle Obama wrote the Five-Word Epitaph for Trump's Presidency:

          "It Is What It Is"

    and she issued a Call to Action.

 Michelle Obama is hope and Trump is fear.     

More lemonade tonight.

Joe Biden accepted the nomination of the Democratic party.

He recognizes the presidency as the duty to care.

Watching the roll call across all 57 US states and territories, we know way more about our country,

  and being welcomed into the Biden family,

     way more about Joe and Jill.

           Make a Plan to Vote

"When others are going so low, does going high still really work?"

"Going high is the only thing that works, because when we go low, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanizing others, we just become part of the ugly noise that's drowning out everything else.

"But let's be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top. Going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under God, and if we want to survive, we've got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences.

"And going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free: the cold hard truth."    
-- Michelle Obama

Has anyone noticed the irony?

Yesterday,

in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment's ratification,

the same guy trying his darnedest to suppress the vote,

                                          even undermining the postal service,

issued a pardon for Susan B. Anthony,

                              arrested and convicted for illegally attempting to vote.

Night 3:

An urgent call to action. It's all on the line.

"Donald Trump has not grown into the job; the consequences of that failure are severe."

We received a direct message in a dark time -

"...that's how a democracy withers."

Interesting to know Barack Obama had been scheduled to be the last speaker. By preceding Kamala Harris, he gave her space to introduce herself to the American people, and for the evening to end with Joe Biden joining her on stage, then followed by Jill Biden and Kamala's husband.

My granddaughter and a HS friend are starting Let's Vote Wisconsin, an organization in support of mandatory K-12 voter education. While an American government class is required for high school graduation in their school district, they don't think it's enough to emphasize the importance of voting, nor does it give young people the tools to vote when they reach 18.

"We think it's really important for kids in school to learn about voting from a young age in order to have the background to become educated voters. Even just one hour in the school year, just one hour would be required... "

They have ideas that could be implemented based on grade level. They are conferring with K-12 teachers to better determine age-appropriate topics to explore at each grade level, and are drafting a bill proposal requiring voter education each year of public education. They've started an online petition to demonstrate community support for voter education. They envision topics like: "What is an election?" and "Who is your mayor?" for elementary students; the importance of voting, communicating with your representives, and how voter suppression weakens political accountability for middle school students; and voter registration and working the polls as well as American government class(es) for high school students.

Though Wisconsin has relatively high voter turnout compared to the rest of of the U.S., they point to U.S. Census data showing that only about one in three residents ages 18 to 24 in the Midwest voted in the November 2018 midterm election.

They did it! Lemonade for everyone.

Joe Biden delivered the speech of his life.

The moment called Joe and he's meeting the moment.

He will be president for all Americans.

We know the full measure of the man; he has earned the respect and admiration of people from all walks of life.

Good to hear Senator Tammy Baldwin's optimism about Wisconsin.

As someone said: "Maybe Trump should spend some time in his basement."

Hope springs eternal.

Fox Valley, Wisconsin, is awash with Trump signs and flags.

My next door neighbor, a Republican who voted for Trump, startled me when he asked how I felt about the Democratic Convention. I told him for lots of reasons, I thought it went well.

"Yes," he said, "Biden gave a really good speech."

I am encouraged to work harder to turn Wisconsin Blue.

Really?

Jared Kushner says it would take 10 years to develop a safe vote-by-mail system,

but warp speed (months) to develop a safe vaccine for covid-19.

Major League Baseball has been impacted bigly by covid-19.  
Thus far 37 games have been postponed due to positive tests for covid-19.

The Astros have not had a game postponed this season, but following a positive covid-19 test at their alternate training site in Corpus Christi, Texas, Astros have temporarily shut down the facility. No one on the road with the major league team turned up on the contact tracing protocols. Astros will not be able to summon a player from Corpus Christi until the matter is resolved.

Meanwhile, the Mets returned to NY without the members who tested positive or those who traced to be in close contact with them before completing their series with the Marlins.  
The weekend Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees was postponed.  
No additional members of the Mets have tested positive; Mets and Marlins will meet again Tuesday night in NY.

Managing schedule changes is a continuing challenge for MLB. Marlins, Cardinals, and Phillies are scheduled for lots of 7- inning doubleheaders for the rest of the season.

Less drama, more Mama.  
Kellyanne Conway says she is departing her work at the White House end of August.  
George Conway is stepping back from his work with the Lincoln Project.     
Both parents will spend more time with their children to tend to the family drama.  
Cheers to George and Kellyanne with all best wishes to their family.

Other nations had kings, but there was only one son of the sun god Ra, and he was called pharaoh, "great house" in the language. So a new pharaoh appeared; he knew nothing of Joseph, the savior of Egypt.

Does Trump think of himself as "Pharaoh"? He thinks he is building a "Great House." He seems not to know American history.

The Egyptian Pharaoh screamed out a terrible command: "Every boy that is born, you shall throw into the Nile."  (Exodus 1:22).      
A boy was put in the Nile, but hardly to die. Rather that child grew up in pharaoh's own house, nursed by that boy's own mother who was paid for that motherly task by pharaoh's own daughter.  
It is interesting that the only people in this story with names, apart from Moses, are women, women who saved the Hebrew people and the child who one day led them to the promised land.

It is ironic that the Exodus of the Hebrews was facilitated by a plague.