I was driving around town and spotted several yard signs with “Republican for Harris” message. It’s a high hope to see some Republicans put country before Trump. Not only they are rejecting Trump, but they are also making sure that he won’t return to the White House. They know he is a danger for democracy. Seeing the yard signs makes me want to do something similar. I want signs that would say, “Vietnamese-American for Harris.” It is probably a long shot because the majority of Vietnamese-American are still obsessed with Trump.

I responded to the LDHV parents:

Dear All,

Thank you Chị T and cChị K for your hard work, dedication, and perspective. Now, allow me to put my head on the chopping block.

After reading this email, my wife was furious—not at the message, but at me. I hardly took out the trash at home, and yet I went above and beyond as one of the trash guys for LDHV. All kidding aside, I appreciate the recognition, but I can’t take all the credits. Other parents whose names aren’t on the list had stepped up with the trash and the water as well.

Big shout out to all the parents for participating in the LDHV activities. As Trưởng BT always says, “Without your willingness to take your kids to our events, there would be no Pack.”

When my wife and I decided to sign our kids up for scouting, we went with LDHV because of its reputation and the unity between parents and leaders. It was true. In the first few meetings, I felt connected as being part of an extended family.

In contrast, I heard divisive stories within other LDs from classism to status to gossip. Being one of the longest parents in LDHV (since 2019), I can testify that LDHV is above those.

Let’s continue to set an exemplary example for our kids.

Regards,

Donny Truong

My third and youngest son had been asking me to take them to see Deadpool & Wolverine. I finally took them today. I thought it was just a comic film, but I was deadline. It was excessively violent and filled with profanity. The F-bomb was dropped in almost all of the dialogues. It was definitely a mistake for me to take them, and yet they enjoyed it. They even knew the characters. I knew Wolverine, but I had no clue the rest of the gang. I also fell asleep in parts of the movie. This is not my cup of tea.

Gun violence in America is way out of control and we still don’t have a solution. Even the U.S. government still has no policy to prevent mass shootings after mass shootings. Wait is Cuong Lu’s attempt to address the issue through love and compassion. The book is his love letter to the killers in hoping that they will treasure their lives and the lives of people they want to take. He points out in the prologue, “The moment the violence stops, peace is possible.” I hope this book will reach those who are in despair before they hurt themselves and other people.

Karrin Vasby Anderson, Professor of Communication Studies at Colorado State University, weighs in on the debate:

Trump’s own white masculine insecurity was on clear display throughout his debate against Harris. It was a different type of pathological masculinity than the aggressive and aggrieved toxic masculinity Trump perfected as MAGA stagecraft.

Trump’s performance in the debate illustrates why insecure white masculinity should be disqualifying for a presidential candidate. When triggered, it short circuits the candidate’s strategic thinking and elicits demagogic and dehumanizing arguments.

The debate between Harris and Trump revealed how vesting authority in an insecure white man is dangerous for democracy.

She nailed it.

Last week, I took my YF YouFu 110mm Three-Wheel Inline Skates to practice carving for skiing. My goal is to get my posture correct and to roll my knees and ankles to imitate carving on skis. The big wheels on the rollerblade allowed me to bend my knees and ankles and to follow through the C shape. I can’t wait to carve on my skis this winter. This is what I am aiming for.

I am still practicing my snowboard carving in the basement. I am using my son’s rental board and boots to practice my posi-posi stance and to tip the board on its edge for both toe and heel turns. I still couldn’t go as low as where hands can touch the ground, but I could dig the edge into the ground. My goal is to leave a thin line in the snow when I carve on snowboard this coming season.

Yes, my goal is to carve, carve, and carve. That’s all I wanted to accomplish this winter. I already put in my winter holiday break. I will take a month off during Christmas and New Year. I can’t wait. Please Mother Nature, give us lots of snow this year.

Just 24 hours after a historic presidential debate, Vice President Kamala Harris raised $47 million from 600,000 donors. No wonder she wanted to debate him again, but Trump got scared to step back into the ring one more time. She would knock him the fuck out and end his bid for president. He underestimated her. Trump’s toxic masculinity was no match for Harris’s strong intellectuality. Who won the debate? Just follow the money. All America, this narcissistic, racist, insecure, angry, whiny white boy has to go.

I must confess. I was laughing my ass off watching the debate. Donald Trump had the temperament of a six years old boy. Kamala Harris could read him like an open book. Instead of talking about his destructiveness, she led him into destructing himself and it worked every single time.

Throughout the debate, Trump proved himself to be a self-centered bully. Harris schooled him a lesson on bullying. Hearing him spill wild conspiracy theories and baseless claims, I could never take this bully seriously.

When the moderators asked him about January 6, he said flat out, “I didn’t know anything about it. It was not me. I did nothing wrong. I just showed up and gave a speech.” He denied any responsibility and yet they still support him. I just don’t get it.

The other day, I watched my nephew playing around with my boys. He was walking backward and hit the pole that held an umbrella. He started to cry and scolded the pole, “Why was that thing even there?” He started kicking the pole. It was the pole’s fault that made him fell. He blamed the pole for standing in his way. It was nonsense, but understandable. He’s a little kid.

After the debate, instead of blaming himself for screwing up, Trump blamed the moderators who refused to let him spilling his lies. Trump never takes any responsibility. He cares about no one else, but himself. He didn’t care that millions of Americans were dying during the pandemic under his watch. He doesn’t even care about his own supporters.

Again I just can’t vote for a whiny little brat to be our president. His incompetent and childish behavior is too dangerous for the job of the president. He’s a danger to our country. He’s a grave danger to our democracy.

I was laughing at his debate performance, but I am deeply concerned about him taking over our country for four more years. We were lucky before, but let’s not put our country at danger again.

Hôm thứ bảy vừa rồi tôi được nghe một người anh lớn cho biết lý do tạo sao vợ chồng anh quyết định không có con cái. Từng là trưởng Hướng đạo trong cộng đồng Việt, anh và vợ cho rằng khi có con mình sẽ trở nên ích kỷ hơn. Mình sẽ bận bịu với con mình và không còn thời gian cho những đứa trẻ khác.

Vì chỉ mới quen anh lần đầu nên tôi không khẳng định hay nhận xét gì về sự quyết định của gia đình anh nhưng tôi cảm thấy lý lẽ của anh cũng có lý. Tôi không phủ nhận khi đã làm cha tôi trở nên ích kỷ hơn. Bổn phận làm cha, tôi tập trung sức lực và đầu óc vào con cái của mình.

Tuy nhiên, tôi vẫn nhận thức được sự công bằng giữa con mình và con người khác. Dĩ nhiên tôi không muốn con người khác ăn hiếp con mình. Tôi càng không muốn con mình ăn hiếp con người khác. Quang trọng là xử lý làm sao cho đẹp tất cả. Tôi chấp nhận ích kỷ nhưng vẫn còn lý lẽ.

Có những phụ huynh khi chưa có con họ rất là rộng lượng nhưng khi có con rồi, họ chỉ biết về con mình. Con của họ lúc nào cũng trên hết. Tôi hiểu được tình cảm của họ dành cho con mình nhưng khi vì quá thương con mình mà bị mù quáng và mất đi lý lẽ thì khó mà hòa đồng.

Những người như anh trưởng nói trên thì hiếm hoi. Chỉ có những ai trung thành và cống hiến cho Hướng đạo mới rộng lượng đến thế và tôi kính trọng anh.

The other day, we wandered into a pet store somewhere in New Jersey. There was a cute puppy inside a cage. Xuân and Vương came up and petted the puppy.

Of course, they begged me to buy the puppy. And of course, my answer would be no even if we got the puppy for free, but I glanced at the price tag, which was $999.99, and replied, “Sorry sons, the puppy cost a thousand dollars. I can’t afford it.” My five-year-old Vương replied, “But dad, you always spent money on alcohol.” His older brother Xuân chimed in, “I saw the receipt. You spent $850 on liquor.”

I thought to myself, “Oh shit! They got me good.”