Unheralded

TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — Conventions Were A Contrast In Positive And Negative Energy

It is done! Last week, I gave my unsolicited opinions on the clown show that was the Republican convention. I promised to do the same after the Democrats met. I have to admit: It was more than I anticipated.

The Democrats, whether you like it or not, were organized, prompt, factual, entertaining, efficient and “told the truth.”

Now, for all the folks who say Hillary Clinton presents no facts, no plans to implement her suggested programs — pull your biased heads out of the sand, go to HillaryClinton.com, and read to your heart’s content.

Then go to Donald Trump’s dream page and you’ll find — oh, that’s right, nothing. He doesn’t have one. He even took down the site for his wife, Melania. He finally learned that she not only did not graduate from Trump University, she didn’t graduate and get a degree from any university at all, here or in Slovenia.

Hmm, who wrote her speech? I think the Donald did. If he didn’t and she actually did so, he will be hunting for wife No. 4. When he finds her, he’ll divorce wife No. 3. That’s his standard method of operation.

But back to the Democratic convention. I heard so many outstanding speakers that I can’t truly say who, in the four days, was the best. They were all first-rate and really heart-felt. They spoke their truth.

Ardent Hillary bashers — oh, by the way, as I type that, Spellchecker keeps correcting me and suggesting the word “bastards” — have by now taken a timeout to recover their wits. If any convention did what it should do for a candidate, this Democratic convention did. On the other hand, if any convention did exactly what you don’t want a convention to do, the GOP won, hands down.

The people of this country had best listen to the war cry begun by the Democrats and now echoed by some Republicans: Don’t boo — vote. Don’t boo — vote. Don’t boo — vote.

Now, I’m not a politician; I’m an opinion writer. For my critics, that means I say what I think. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. If you do read it, you might want to memorize it because, as an opinion writer, I’m never wrong. I can’t be wrong about my own opinion, right? Think on that for a few minutes

A young man named Ryan Moore from Sioux City, Neb., spoke at the convention. He suffers from spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia — dwarfism. He gave a heartfelt speech about his relationship with Hillary and her advocacy for health care reform. This tiny man met Hillary in 1994 and has stayed in touch with her ever since.

What did Donald Trump say?

He tweeted, “I was going to hit one guy in particular, a very little guy. I was going to hit this guy so hard his head would spin, he wouldn’t know what the hell happened.” Doesn’t that sound like presidential material? It’s more feed for the coward that he is and the hate that he spews!

Now, everyone knows how “The Donald” is going to build a wall to keep Mexicans out and pass a law to stop immigration of any Muslims. He says the Mexicans who are in our country are rapists, thugs, murderers and drug dealers. Yet he wants to build that wall … so they can’t get out. Of course, his sweeping claims against both Mexicans and Muslims are simply bold-faced lies. That poor sap couldn’t tell the truth if it meant saving his life, but it shows you how warped his thinking is.

Khizr Khan, a Muslim-American, spoke from the heart about his son, Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in action in service to the U.S.A. He spoke about the patriotic Muslims who have lived in and died for this country, including his son. He talked about Trump’s call to ban all people of his religion and Trump’s call for the torture and killing of the families of our enemies.

Khan then wondered if Donald had ever read the Constitution. He said he’d be happy to buy one for him.

He said to Trump, and I quote: “Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You’ll see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one. We cannot solve our problems by building walls, sowing division. We are stronger together.”

If any event has had a more diverse and intelligent group of speakers, I haven’t seen it. I’ve seen none that can compare to the speakers at this convention.

President Obama and his wife, Michelle; as well as Chelsea, Bill and Hillary Clinton, set the bar so high that Trump could never jump over it.

Honestly, I wanted to see positive things coming out of both conventions, things that all of us could respect even it we disagreed. But Trump and the people who he directs — the people who control him? — prevented even the faintest positive message from happening.

Trump has taken the Republican party away from the GOP. Once he loses, and you can bet he will, they’d better do some soul searching. They need to get back to “we the people,” like the Dems have.

These are dangerous times in the world, but the future of this country is bright … provided a dictator is not elected — you know, the guy who says he is his own best adviser! That he knows more about ISIS than our military commanders! That he, and only he, can make America great again.

America is great right now. When we the people of the United States of America band together with one common purpose, there is nothing that we cannot do. The old adage, “United we stand, divided we fall,” surely rings true today

I ask our Creator to bless America and all of its people. When he does, we will make the right decisions.

* * *

Now, back to the local news. Regulation and laws mean little without enforcement and clarification. When a unlicensed child of 13 driving an ATV gets into an accident with 12 kids on board, where were the parents? Thank God none of the children were killed. When will we start holding parents responsible for their negligence?

Kudos to the criminal justice system, led by North Dakota’s U.S. attorney, for trying to educate the public on the drug epidemic in our communities and focus on all those killed by opioid overdoses. Something just makes no sense when our young people, knowing full well how dangerous drugs are, use them anyway. The kids aren’t stupid, but something is definitely missing in their thought process and in their lives.

It would be easy to blame parents in this situation, but that wouldn’t be accurate. There’s another old adage: “Parents must stay involved and parent, not try to be their kids’ best friend.”

If you are gone all day and party or socialize all night, what excuse is there when things go wrong your children? Of course, we do know the best parents can sometimes have the worst kids, and some very bad parents have very good ones. The question is, are you trying? I certainly hope so because our children are the future. Amen.




One thought on “TOM DAVIES: The Verdict — Conventions Were A Contrast In Positive And Negative Energy”

  • Jean Schmith August 4, 2016 at 10:42 pm

    Every person in Mexico owns a shovel (except Carlos Slim who owns a shovel company); when that dufus considers building a wall, he might consider that. And those who don’t own shovels own helicopters (now THAT would be Carlos Slim). Trump is a waste of a cheap suit.

    Reply

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