Pete Buttigieg gave a convincing speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention:

Beau Biden lived a life of service, in office and in uniform. When you put your life on the line for your country—especially this country—you do it not because it’s a country you ​live in​,​ b​ut because it’s a country you ​believe in​.

I believe in this country because America, uniquely, holds the promise of a place where everyone can belong. We know that for too many and for too long, that promise has gone unrealized. But we also know America has been at its best whenever we make that circle of belonging wider.

He made the case for Biden and Harris:

Every American must now decide. Can America be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? Can we become a country that lives up to the truth that Black Lives Matter? Will we handle questions of science and medicine by turning to scientists and doctors? What will we do to make America into a land where no one who works full time can live in poverty?

Sáu giờ sáng thức giấc. Vẫn mỏi mệt không muốn bò ra giường. Nằm đọc sách đến bảy giờ rưỡi. Cả nhà vẫn còn đang ngủ. Đánh răng rửa mặt rồi đạp xe qua trường Mason. Tập rollerblades nửa tiếng. Về lại nhà mẹ vợ đã dậy và sắp sửa đi bộ thể dục.

Bắc ấm nước pha cà phê. Nướng lại ổ bánh mì thịt cho đồ chua và ớt vào. Đem ra deck ngồi vừa ăn vừa uống vừa nghe podcast vừa thưởng thức ánh nắng dịu dàng của buổi sáng. Vừa xong thì đám nhỏ cũng vừa thức dậy. Giúp hai thằng nhỏ đánh răng rồi cho xuống nhà ăn sáng. Hôm nay chạy qua Dunkin’ Donuts mua chút bánh ngọt và điểm tâm cho bọn nó.

Chín giờ rưỡi mở laptop bắt đầu vào công việc. Buổi sáng của tôi chỉ có thế thôi. Và như thế tôi sống vui từng ngày. Nếu ngày nào cũng được nhẹ nhàng và giản dị như thế.

I am making very little progress with rollerblade. The first pair my wife bought hurt my feet way too much. I could barely skate for few minutes. I tried out my son’s K2 Skate Youth Raider and it felt much better. She ordered me a new K2 pair just like my son’s since I have small feet and could fit into a youth size.

Yesterday after work, we went to George Mason field house to tried rollerblading on the bike route. Since the route is somewhat flat and has grass right next to pavement, we could run into the grass if we couldn’t break. I used that quite often. The K2 Skate Youth Raider Pro Pack includes knee and elbow pads as well as wrist guards. We definitely needed pads, guards, and helmet for safety. Rollerblading seems to be much more dangerous than ice skating.

I still have a lot of practicing to do to get in the groove for rollerblading like I had with ice skating. I am glad that my sons are joining me in this sport.

Elizabeth Warren dropped a hidden message to BLM and a not-so-subtle message about the orange idiot at the 2020 Democratic National Convention:

Donald Trump’s ignorance and incompetence have always been a danger to our country. COVID-19 was Trump’s biggest test. He failed miserably. Today, America has the most COVID deaths in the world and an economic collapse—and both crises are falling hardest on Black and Brown families.

Millions out of work. Millions more trapped in cycles of poverty. Millions on the brink of losing their homes. Millions of restaurants and stores hanging by a thread.

This crisis is bad—and didn’t have to be this way. This crisis is on Donald Trump and the Republicans who enable him. On November 3, we hold them all accountable.

I still wish she was the nominee.

Kamala Harris gave a passionate speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention:

And we’ve shown that, when we vote, we expand access to health care, expand access to the ballot box, and ensure that more working families can make a decent living.

I’m so inspired by a new generation of leadership. You are pushing us to realize the ideals of our nation, pushing us to live the values we share: decency and fairness, justice and love.

You are the patriots who remind us that to love our country is to fight for the ideals of our country.

In this election, we have a chance to change the course of history. We’re all in this fight.

You, me and Joe — together.

What an awesome responsibility. What an awesome privilege.

So, let’s fight with conviction. Let’s fight with hope. Let’s fight with confidence in ourselves, and a commitment to each other. To the America we know is possible. The America, we love.

Let’s do this!

Obama gave an exceptional speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. He talked about democracy:

Tonight, I am asking you to believe in Joe and Kamala’s ability to lead this country out of these dark times and build it back better. But here’s the thing: no single American can fix this country alone. Not even a president. Democracy was never meant to be transactional—you give me your vote; I make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry. So I am also asking you to believe in your own ability—to embrace your own responsibility as citizens—to make sure that the basic tenets of our democracy endure.

Because that’s what at stake right now. Our democracy.

Well, here’s the point: this president and those in power—those who benefit from keeping things the way they are—they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win. That’s how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love. That’s how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected, how our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That’s how a democracy withers, until it’s no democracy at all.

I deeply missed our Black President.

Gần đây tôi nhận được một số thư từ đọc giả cho biết cộng đồng người Việt đã thức tỉnh. Nhất là một số người gốc Việt lớn tuổi đã nhận ra được sự bất tài và thiếu trình độ của ông tổng thống thất bại. Sự vô cảm, tự cao, và vô dụng của ông ta để cho con coronavirus giết hại hơn 172,000 mạng người Mỹ. Con số đó sẽ còn tăng mỗi ngày. Cho nên là lần bầu cử sắp tới họ sẽ không bỏ phiếu cho ông ta nữa nhưng họ cũng sẽ không bỏ phiếu cho ông Joe Biden.

Đi bỏ phiếu hay không là sự chọn lựa của bạn. Nếu bạn không đi bỏ phiếu cho ai cả thì bạn chỉ lãng phí đi cái quyền lợi của mình. Và nếu như bạn chỉ không bỏ phiếu cho ông ta thì bạn vẫn cho ông ta được cơ hội thắng. Nếu như bạn thật sự nhận thức được sự nguy hại của ông ta và sự sụp đổ nền dân chủ thì bạn nên bỏ phiếu cho Joe Biden.

Chúng ta thường dạy con cháu rằng khi thấy những gì không đúng, chúng ta phải lên tiếng, và phải hành động để thay đổi sự việc sai trái đó. Bạn hãy dùng tờ phiếu của mình để thay đổi đất nước thứ nhì của chúng ta. Chúng ta mang ơn của họ rất nhiều và chúng ta có trách nhiệm phải góp sức để đấu tranh cho nước Mỹ mạnh mẽ, hòa thuận, và công bằng cho tất cả.

Tôi vẫn lo sợ rằng nếu như ông ta tiếp tục làm tổng thống thêm bốn năm nữa, nước Mỹ sẽ không còn nền dân chủ nữa mà nó sẽ trở thành chủ nghĩa phát xít. Cái tự do mà dân Việt Nam của chúng ta đã đánh đổi cả tính mạng để đi tìm sẽ trở thành quốc gia độc tài. Bạn có thể nào nhìn thẳng vào mắt của con cháu bạn nếu như điều đó sẽ xảy ra chỉ gì bạn không chịu đi bỏ phiếu cho lần bầu cử này? Nên đi bỏ phiếu cho ông Joe Biden càng sớm càng tốt.

With COVID-19, we haven’t done much this summer. All vacations had been cancelled. To give our boys some activities, my wife bought two Intex Seahawk 2 Inflatable Boats. We took them to the lake and just let them paddled for an hour or two. The boys loved it.

With three air chambers, the Seahawk 2 is comfortable. Its high-output hand pump makes inflating the boats with ease—even my four-year-old son can help pump up the boats quickly. The two Boston valves make deflating fast and easy to store away.

What I enjoyed the most about the boating experience was just lying down on the boat and read a book. The Seahawk 2 is so comfortable; therefore, I just let it float away. It was such a great way to enjoy a book or take a nap. I can spend all day doing that. Of course, wearing a life jacket or a floating device is a must. I would not let my kids get on the boat without wearing one even the two older kids already know how to swim.

Michelle Obama gave another outstanding speech at the Democrat National Convention. She delved into empathy:

[W]henever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division, and a total and utter lack of empathy.

Empathy: that’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. The ability to walk in someone else’s shoes; the recognition that someone else’s experience has value, too. Most of us practice this without a second thought. If we see someone suffering or struggling, we don’t stand in judgment. We reach out because, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” It is not a hard concept to grasp. It’s what we teach our children.

And like so many of you, Barack and I have tried our best to instill in our girls a strong moral foundation to carry forward the values that our parents and grandparents poured into us. But right now, kids in this country are seeing what happens when we stop requiring empathy of one another. They’re looking around wondering if we’ve been lying to them this whole time about who we are and what we truly value.

Her entire speech is worth-watching.

I bought a pair of Jabra Move wireless headphones over a year ago. The design is simple, comfortable, and surprisingly durable. It still looks new after a year. What I enjoy the most is the sound quality: crisp tremble and pounding bass. What I am not so pleased is the weak Bluetooth connection, which gets static the further I move away from my phone. Nevertheless, the price and the sound quality beat the minor flaw of the Bluetooth. My two older sons will start online school next month and they would need a pair of headphones for their virtual classes. I repurchased two pairs since Amazon has a 41% discount for $59.13 each.