Anne Applebaum writes in the Atlantic:

Even if the Democratic nominee wins, “Can Biden reach into the opposite bubble?” is a question not just for the autumn of 2020 but for the spring of 2021, the winter of 2022, and many years into the future. The need to reach across informational and cultural divides will add an extra layer of complication to the multiple economic, medical, and foreign-policy crises a new Biden administration would immediately face, and will make it difficult to carry out the deep reforms that our bureaucracy, our democracy, and our health-care system need. But unless Biden makes an effort to talk with his opponents, he could end up much like the candidate in the Polish wheat field, with only the facts and 49 percent of the public on his side. Biden’s campaign may represent the last chance to bridge the gaps that divide us. If Trump wins another term, then we can be certain that no one will even try.

If you read one article today, make it this one. Ibram X. Kendi writes in the Atlantic:

False hope was my new normal, until it wasn’t. When they scanned my body, doctors found that the cancer had spread. I had Stage 4 colon cancer. I had two choices: denial and death, or recognition and life. America now has two choices.

Trump’s denials of his racism will never stop. He will continue to claim that he loves people of color, the very people his policies harm. He will continue to call himself “not racist,” and turn the descriptive term racist back on anyone who has the temerity to call out his own prejudice. Trump clearly hopes that racist ideas—paired with policies designed to suppress the vote—will lead to his reelection. But now that Trump has pushed a critical mass of Americans to a point where they can no longer explain away the nation’s sins, the question is what those Americans will do about it.

Or Americans can realize that they are at a point of no return. No returning to the bad old habit of denial. No returning to cynicism. No returning to normal—the normal in which racist policies, defended by racist ideas, lead to racial inequities.

On this path, Trump’s denialism has permanently changed the way Americans view themselves. The Trump effect is real, and lasting. The reckoning we have witnessed this spring and summer at public demonstrations transforms into a reckoning in legislatures, C-suites, university-admissions offices.

On this path, the American people demand equitable results, not speeches that make them feel good about themselves and their country. The American people give policy makers an ultimatum: Use your power to radically reduce inequity and injustice, or be voted out.

End racism now!

Watching Jonathan Swan interviewing a four-year-old reminded me of conversations with my four-year-old sons. I went through it with my first, second, and third sons. They just have their own limited views that nothing I said could make any sense to them.

For example, the other day my four-year-old son ate the last popsicle we had in the fridge and he asked for more. I told him that we didn’t have anymore and I even opened the fridge to show him that we didn’t have anymore, but his response was, “But I want more.” I explained to him that we ran out of popsicle and even if we had more he wouldn’t allow to have two popsicles at one time. His response was, “But I want it.”

Although I only watched a few minutes of the interview, I could tell that Swan was getting frustrated. No matter how many times he tried to ask his questions and to present the facts, he couldn’t get through the four-year-old mind. When Swan said that the U.S. death toll is 1,000 a day, the four-year-old responded, “It is what it is.” Jonathan, welcome to my world!

Tôi đóng Facebook được hai tuần nay nên không hay biết gì về những chuyện bàn tán trong cộng đồng người Việt ở Mỹ. Hôm qua tôi về thăm mẹ. Lúc đang ăn tối, mẹ mở Facebook lên và nghe Bé Tí, nghệ sĩ hài và fan cuồng của ông Trump, nói về cái video của các bác sĩ cho rằng thuốc hydroxychloroquine có hiệu nghiệm trị coronavirus. Bé Tí cho rằng những công ty lớn như Facebook, Twitter, và YouTube cấm cái video này là vì họ muốn giúp đỡ ông “Sleepy Joe” nên che dấu sự thật.

Rồi người bác của vợ tôi ở Texas email cho mọi người trong gia đình báo tin mừng rằng thuốc trị coronavirus bằng hydroxychloroquine từ Dr. Stella Immanuel ở Texas. Bác có kèm thêm một từ báo Việt viết về tin này. Nghe tin được bàn luận xôn xao trong cộng đồng người Việt nên tôi muốn tìm hiểu thêm một tí về nhóm bác sĩ này, nhất là về bác sĩ Stella Immanuel ở Texas. Phải công nhận rằng bà đưa ra những nhận xét khoa học thật thú vị. Chẳng hạn như về phụ khoa (gynecology). Bà cho rằng bị u nang (cysts) hoặc bị lạc nội mạc tử cung (endometriosis) bởi vì con người làm tình với yêu quái lúc nằm mơ mà ra.

Tôi khuyên mẹ tôi đừng xem video của cô Bé Tí nữa. Cô đưa ra những thông tin điên cuồng vì sự mê muội của cô dành cho ông Trump. Tôi hy vọng người Việt trong cộng đồng nhận xét được những nguồn tin giật gân và thức tỉnh sau cái chết của Herman Cain. Ông Cain tham dự rally của ông Trump vào ngày 20 tháng 6 ở Tulsa, Oklahoma và ông đã không đeo khẩu trang. Hai tuần sau ông bị nhiễm COVID-19. Hôm nay ông đã qua đời ở tuổi 74. Một cái chết thật đáng tiếc. Tôi biết rất nhiều người Việt trong cộng đồng cho rằng COVID-19 chỉ là trò đánh lừa nhưng tôi khuyên mọi người đừng nên đùa giỡn với tính mạng của mình và của người khác.

On June 20, Herman Cain attended the idiot-in-chief rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma without wearing a mask. Two weeks later, he tested positive for coronavirus. Today, he lost his life to the virus at 74. It’s a damn tragedy that could have been avoided. The idiot-in-chief has a hand in this. His rally his responsibility. I hope the Republicans wake the fuck up and realize that this virus is not a hoax. I also hope that they can see how idiot-in-chief continues to let the virus kill Americans. We need to put a stop to this incompetent, heartless leadership.

It has been fascinating to see Joe Biden rising in the polls while staying on the down low. I have not heard anything from Biden, except for the coverage of his VP pick. On the other hand, his idiot opponent kept running his mouth and his fingers and had yet to get any traction. His poll numbers continued to slip, which drove him crazy.

My advice to the Biden campaign to pick a VP who could take on the idiot and let Biden continue to stay low. Wouldn’t that be a great strategy? Biden would be better off staying away from the media. The more he opens his mouth the more embarrassing gaffe he is going to make. So just let idiot sabotage his own campaign and handover the presidency. Biden just need to stay focus on the real issues that help American people.

In term of voting in November, I had applied to vote by mail in Virginia. As soon as I receive my absentee ballot, I will cast my vote. I will check Democrats straight up and down. I am so tired of the spineless Republicans who are afraid of the idiot than working for the people. Fuck them. I hope the Republic party will grow some spines after Trump loses the general election and Democrats gain control of the Senate.

I deactivated Facebook again 10 days ago. I dipped in and out of the platform to check on friends and family members.

The constant feed of misinformation, however, depressed the hell out of me. The urge to correct fake news posted by my own family members was simply too much. It got to the point that angry posts from supporters of the idiot in the White House had taken over family activities. I needed a break.

I am more relaxed not getting caught up in the fake news cycles. I must admit. Facebook had hooked me in. It’s an addiction that’s hard to kick off. I will try to stay off the platform as long as I can.

In her moving speech, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responds to Representative Ted Yoho for calling her a “fucking bitch”:

What Yoho did, in front of the press, he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his communities, and I am here to stand up to say: “That is not acceptable.”

AOC uses a man’s whip to whip his back with it (lấy gậy ông đập lưng ông). Next time when a man uses his wife and daughters as shields and excuses for his despicable behavior, he should think about the repercussion. Mad respect to AOC.

Dear White Voters,

Democracy is in your hands. You can help save America. The stakes for the 2020 general election are extremely high and we don’t have a choice.

We need to stop a racist from further dividing America. We need to stop a narcissist from letting the coronavirus kill America. We need to stop a puppet from letting Putin kill our soldiers. We need to stop a fascist from killing our democracy.

Even if you voted for him in 2016, it is not too late to change your mind if you still want to fight racism, injustice, and inequality. You are still the majority and we can’t win back America without you. Please vote for Joe Biden this time. He’s the white man we can trust to do the right thing.

Please give him a chance. He will be a much better president than the sitting clown in the White House. Joe alone won’t fix everything, but he will surround himself with experts in every field to help run our country. I hope he will earn your vote.

Sincerely,

Donny Trương

He claimed to make America great again. Instead, he has made many of us dumb as fuck. I am noticing more and more Vietnamese Americans believing the coronavirus is a hoax created by the Democrats to take him down.

It’s dangerous. It’s beyond misinformation. Over 50,000 cases a day is not a hoax. It’s the pandemic, stupid. It’s lives and deaths, not Democrats or Republicans. It’s science, not politics. It’s sweeping the world, not just America. The rest of the world doesn’t give a fuck if he gets re-elected or not. We need to get our head straight. He is making us sick—not great.

Wearing masks prevents the spread of the virus and saves lives, but it has become politicized because he doesn’t want to wear one. They compare the face mask mandatory to the act of communism. Have they forgotten how it was like living under the communist? Has too much freedom made them become so ignorant? They rather put themselves and their family at risk than masking up.

I didn’t realize how deep fake news, racism, and homophobia ran in our community until he became president. He brought out not only the white supremacist, but also exposed the ugliness hiding in the Vietnamese-American community. We have lots of work ahead of us to right our wrong, but I am hopeful seeing the young Vietnamese-American generation stepping up to help fix these issues.