Windy City Watch

Plus, broadcast bravery

August 19, 2024

The Flag

Good morning and Happy Monday! Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:

  • US: House Republicans open probe into Walz engagement with China (The Hill)

  • World: Hamas rejects proposed cease-fire plan that drew hope deal is near as Netanyahu digs in (USA Today)

  • Business: Perdue recalls 167,000 pounds of chicken nuggets after consumers find metal wire in some packages (AP)

  • Technology: OpenAI’s new voice mode let me talk with my phone, not to it (TechCrunch)

  • Sports: Caitlin Clark’s Ridiculously Cool Pass vs. Mercury Had WNBA Fans in Awe (Sports Illustrated)

And, of course, some good news: A Meteorologist suffered a panic attack on live TV. Watch how he handled it.

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Right: What Happened to My Party? Joel Kotkin, The American Mind

Right: Who's for the First Amendment--and Who's Against, Michael Barone, Washington Examiner

Left: Trump Acts Tough. Harris Is Proving Her Strength, Symone Sanders-Townsend, MSNBC

Left: A Biden-Harris Lovefest, Joan Walsh, The Nation

DNC

Windy City Watch

Today’s Top Story: Today marks the beginning of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Democratic Party Delegates will officially nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee and vote on the party platform.

Reporting from the Right: Law enforcement brace as anti-Israel groups vow to bring tens of thousands of protesters to DNC in Chicago (Fox News)

Reporting from the Left: Chicago preps as Democrats descend for convention (CNN)

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

The Dangerous “Chicago Way”

The Top Argument From The Right: Chicago Crime and Democratic Values, Heather Mac Donald, The Wall Street Journal: “The Democratic National Committee presented its 2024 convention site as a show of confidence. ‘Chicago is a world-class city that looks like America and demonstrates the values of the Democratic Party,’ Brandon Johnson, then mayor-elect, said in the DNC’s April 2023 announcement. … Convention-goers this month may be deprived of a full demonstration of Mr. Johnson’s depolicing philosophy. Despite its depleted ranks, the Chicago Police Department will flood the convention zone with manpower by eliminating officers’ days off and requiring back-to-back shifts. A disfavored technology has been granted a temporary reprieve. ShotSpotter uses audio sensors to alert the police to gunshots, the vast majority of which aren’t called in to 911. (On July 24, for instance, ShotSpotter alone notified the police of a wheelchair-bound man who had been shot in the back.) Mr. Johnson had refused to renew ShotSpotter’s contract, claiming that the technology leads to overpolicing of black neighborhoods. … While conventioneers may be insulated from the Chicago way, if Kamala Harris becomes the next president, the country may not be so lucky.”

Honorable Mention #1: Chicago Denies Anti-Israel Protesters’ Requests for Stage, Sound System during DNC, David Zimmerman, National Review.

Honorable Mention #2: Inside the anti-Israel network planning a sweeping DNC protest, Gabe Kaminsky, Washington Examiner.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Can’t Allow a Repeat of 1968

The Top Argument From The Left: A rerun of Chicago ’68? Only if Harris lets it happen., Colbert I. King, The Washington Post: “It’s tempting to draw parallels between the 1968 Democratic National Convention and one that convenes on Monday. There are some, but there are also dissimilarities. … Then, as now, the American public was growing unhappy over a war being waged far from U.S. shores. Then, it was Vietnam. Now, the Gaza Strip. The country was as politically and socially divided in 1968 as it is now. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination that April ignited riots in urban centers across the nation. … But here’s where the lines, one hopes, will not follow similar paths. Many pro-Palestine protesters plan to descend on Chicago next week in large numbers. They intend to stage demonstrations that one pro-Palestinian activist, Deanna Othman, told The Post would be seen ‘as the equivalent of the 1968 DNC in Chicago.’ Today’s Democrats could hardly want a repeat performance of that debacle. … So, tear up next week’s convention, fuel disarray, drag down Harris and make a second Trump administration happen. See where that gets Gaza and the West Bank. This isn’t 1968. This country’s not going back to that. Harris has to make sure of that.”

Honorable Mention #1: Foster negotiation between police and protesters for a peaceful DNC, David White et al., The Chicago Tribune.

Honorable Mention #2: What to know about the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Al Jazeera Staff, Al Jazeera.

FLAG THIS

Notable Polling Update

A recent Emerson College Polling/RealClearPennsylvania survey reveals that Trump holds a narrow lead over Harris in Pennsylvania, with 49% to her 48% among likely voters. This widens to 51% to 49% when undecided voters are pressed. Both results are within the margin of error, indicating a statistical tie.

When third-party candidates are factored in, Trump and Harris are tied at 47% each, with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. receiving 3%. The poll highlights the intense competition for Pennsylvania's 19 electoral votes, a state that has swung between parties in the last two presidential elections (The Hill).

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WATERCOOLER

Banneker’s Letter, Pigeon Love, Gum Cheese

On This Day in 1791, the accomplished American mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker pens a letter to then-Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson corresponds prolifically with luminaries from around the world, but Banneker is unique among them: the son of a free Black American woman and a formerly enslaved African man from Guinea, Banneker criticizes Jefferson’s hypocritical stance on slavery in respectful but unambiguous terms. Banneker’s letter stands as proof that one of the nation’s founders received first-hand criticism of his hypocritical and contradictory stance on slavery in his lifetime.

POWERED BY EXPRESS EMPLOYMENT PROFESSIONALS

Each Express Employment Professionals location is locally owned and operated, offering you connections in your community to your next job. With Express, you’ll have a local recruiter you can meet with and explore job opportunities, whether you are looking for a new career path or your next job. Express helps job seekers in a variety of industries, including customer service, IT, logistics, manufacturing – they can help you find just about any type of job. With more than 860 locations, you are sure to have an office nearby.

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