IT'S CONVENTION WEEK!!!!

The DNC kicks off today with delegate breakfasts at 7 am local time. You can check out the full schedule, watch the live stream, and even order swag, at the DNC Site. Starting around 6 or 7 pm Eastern every evening (depending on outlet), all the MSM will be presenting the speeches with commentary. If you don’t have a television, WaPo will have a live stream each evening on their site, and they generally do a good job.

For those in Chicago who can’t get in, a watch party will be held at Soldiers Field, live streaming the speech. The venue holds slightly over 60,000 people. As an aside, when the video of the people at the stadium is shown on all the media outlets, this is going to put TFG over the edge. That campaign is planning counterprogramming, but their numbers have been really lousy, and they’re using small venues, and you KNOW how he feels about crowd size. YUMMERS!

For some really fun behind the scenes intrigue about pulling off a convention, read what previous showrunners have to say here.

The speaker line up has grown, and there has been a lot of interest from people who hadn’t planned on attending before Vice President Harris became the candidate, who now want speaking slots, and skybox access. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing Michelle Obama, who has been added to the Tuesday night lineup.

Governor JB Pritzker will be everywhere, and this convention has a lot to do with his efforts. Background info here.

There will be protests, but they will be outside of the convention venues for the most part. There will be uncommitted delegates, especially noticeable as part of the Minnesota delegation, since the candidates’ states are always up front on the floor. Plans have been made to ensure as little disruption on the floor as possible. There could be up to 20,000 outside protesters, and there will be a designated speaking area for them to make speeches outside the protected area. Some people from the pro-Palestinian movement have met with Vice President Harris and her team, and she has signaled that she has great sympathy for the situation in Gaza, but some groups will go all-in anyway. They want a Palestinian to make a floor speech, but as of this writing, that has not been scheduled. More background.

Get your snacks ready and consider drinking Malört. A drink with a long, storied history, dating back to the 1880’s, and even through Prohibition.

Also today, George Santos (NOT HIS REAL NAME) will plead guilty. And hey, it’s about time.

ENJOY!!!