DV Journal

During an appearance at a medical products company in North Philadelphia, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance offered his own diagnosis of American politics: Democrats are gaslighting you.

“We have a country that’s being failed by its present leadership,” said Sen. Vance (R-Ohio). “Don’t let anybody gaslight you here. Kamala Harris is running around the country and saying ‘On Day One,’ she wants to bring the cost of goods and the cost of housing under control. She says ‘On Day One,’ she wants to make the cost of groceries and housing more affordable to American citizens.

“Kamala Harris, where you have you been?” Vance asked. “Day One was three and a half years ago!”

Vance’s speech came after Harris revealed her economic plan that includes giving first-time homebuyers $25,000 and imposing government price controls on groceries.

Vance was introduced by DiSorb Systems CEO Ted McLaughin, who told the enthusiastic crowd America needs experienced entrepreneurs like former President Donald Trump to run the country, noting that Democrats Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) have no business experience.

“Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are the epitome of career politicians,” he said.

Vance came to prominence as a best-selling author who wrote about his experiences growing up in the economically-depressed environs of Appalachia, and he’s been an outspoken advocate of Trump’s “America First” policies that promote domestic economic activity, in part by imposing tariffs on imported goods.

“We’ve got to stop the Chinese and everybody else from undercutting the wages of American workers.  If you want access to American markets, you ought to deal fairly with the American people. Union and nonunion alike, we’re going to stop the Chinese from building their middle class on the back of the American middle class,” Vance said.

Vance noted Harris has also said she wants more manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

“Well, Kamala, if you really, really want to bring American manufacturing back to this country, might I suggest you vote for Donald Trump,” said Vance. “Get out of this race.”

Vance, who sat down for a series of tough interviews on the Sunday news shows, called out the Democratic ticket for refusing to take questions from the press.

“It is disgraceful that Kamala Harris pretends to run for the presidency of the United States, but she refuses to stand before the American people without a teleprompter standing between.  What are you so afraid of? The American people are good and kind.”

“If you want to be the people’s president, you ought to be willing to stand before the American people and answer a few tough questions. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, is it?”

Vance also turned his fire on Harris’s running mate, who has been besieged by video clips and press statements he’s made that were less than accurate about his service in the National Guard.

“Everything that comes out of [Tim Walz’s] mouth about his military service is 25 percent of a lie,” Vance said, adding:  “It occurred to me the closest that Tim Walz has ever come to combat, even though he said he ‘carried a weapon in war,’ is when he let rioters burn Minneapolis to the ground.

“The American people deserve to be led by someone who is willing to get out there and talk to somebody,” said Vance. “Kamala and Tim, stop hiding in the basement. Get out there and campaign.”

When a reporter asked Vance about abortion, the crowd booed.

Vance said he and Trump are “focused on making the American Dream affordable again.”

But added Trump said that Pennsylvania will have a different abortion policy than Ohio or California. “Let the states decide.”

Their Democratic opposition is talking about “taxpayer-funded abortions up until the moment of birth,” said Vance.

“We want Americans to feel like they can afford to have families again,” said Vance. “You talk to young women who have an unexpected pregnancy, a lot of them feel like they don’t have options. How are you going to feed a baby? How are you going to house a baby?”

DVJournal asked him what a Trump-Vance administration’s position on Israel and the war in Gaza would be.

“Our position is pretty simple. The best thing for Israel and the best thing for the United States is for this war to be over as quickly as possible and for Hamas to be destroyed in the process,” Vance said. “You have Kamala Harris, who said she’s really concerned about civilian casualties. Well, I’m concerned about civilian casualties, too. If you’re concerned about civilian casualties, you want the war to be over as quickly as possible, and you want to destroy Hamas’ ability to fight.

Carolyn ‘Bunny’ Welsh

“She’s pursued policies that are just the opposite,” Vance said. “Not allowing Israel to finish the job against Hamas is the worst of all [outcomes].”

Former Chester County Sheriff Carolyn ‘Bunny’ Welsh was at the Philly event, and she noted that he grew up poor and served in the Marines.

After the event, attendees told DVJournal they were impressed.

“He’s a strong partner for Trump,” said Welsh. “He’ll go through a wall for him. He’s articulate and measured.”

“I think he was great,” said Melissa Hertenberger of Langhorne after the event. “He had a clear presentation, and he knows what it is to be in business and how to get things done.”

Gary Heasley, a Chester County resident, said, “JD Vance has the ability to articulate the platform that is necessary to restore this nation. And he’s already voting to implement it [in the Senate]. He’s a great choice. You can see it when he goes on Democrat TV channels, CNN, MSNBC. He’s consistently fighting for the pro-America agenda to get these policies through, not the globalist agenda.”

Vance “can explain it, but he can also execute it,” Heasley said.

“He’s very quick on his feet. I like what he says,” added West Goshen resident Felice Fein. “He says what he means, and he means what he says. He believes it.”

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After Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance denigrated women who keep cats and don’t have children, whom he characterized as sad “cat ladies,” the media erupted. None of my colleagues, to my knowledge, bothered with the No. 1 obligation of their trade: Get the other side of the story.

So, I thought it was my duty to go forth and interview at least one cat.

I can tell you dogs are easy to interview. They will tell you anything you want to hear and are prepared to perform for the camera. Horses are a journalistic dream: They love to be on camera, especially live television, and will tell you the most extraordinary things. The rule is: If it comes from a horse’s mouth, verify.

But cats are a different story. They go for still photographs, preferably on social media. Facebook is a veritable showcase of posing felines.

But moving pictures? Not as much. Actually, interviewing cats and taking candid pictures takes fortitude. It isn’t easy to get a cat that will open up.

After several disdainful rejections (cats really know how to disdain) a Tuxedo house cat of the male persuasion, whose owner is a childless, middle-age lady, agreed to be interviewed if I met certain conditions:

—No moving pictures, just stills suitable for social media.

—No petting or touching of any kind, unless initiated by the subject.

—No attempts to bribe with food or “blandishments.”

The interview took place in a comfortable, suburban home with a cat named “Simba,” but he refused to answer to that name. He seemed to be a cat, as Rudyard Kipling wrote, who walked by himself.

The homeowner gave me permission to interview her cat in his environment: a sofa draped with a plush, anti-scratch slipcover.

ME to CAT: You don’t like the name Simba?

CAT: It is a family name, but only applies to lions in Africa. We are close but we don’t socialize, except on the internet. If you go to Africa, I could arrange for you to be eaten. (A small, red tongue circled the rim of his mouth.)

ME: So you use the internet?

CAT: Of course. Nearly all domestic cats have computer skills and can crack passwords.

ME: What is the deal with childless women?

CAT: We love them because children interrupt our lives at every level, from sleeping to surfing the net. Also, ladies are malleable.  Children manhandle you and have been known to throw cats out of windows, so they can find out how many lives we have.

ME: You are a house cat. How do you feel about that?

CAT: It is a lifestyle choice. I chose comfort over adventure. Would you turn the air-conditioning up two degrees? Do you know we were worshipped in ancient Egypt and, indeed, we are divine. Silly to try to define how many lives we have: We are eternal.

ME: What do you think of people?

CAT: They have their uses, particularly if they leave their computers on, spend oodles of money on you at PetSmart, and provide companionship on demand. Our call, not theirs.

ME: What sites do you visit on the net when you are surfing?

CAT: “Hot Cats” is my favorite, very risqué.

ME: What do you think about JD Vance?

CAT: You are so slow. Why did it take you so long to ask the only question you want answered?

ME: I was seeking context.

CAT: I could scratch you. Would that be context enough?

ME: Well, what about the Republican vice-presidential pick?

CAT: If he sets foot in Africa, I will have one of my lion cousins, Simba or Leo, drive him up a tree and reason with him. He has caused me personal grief.

ME: How come?

CAT: My companion-lady — cats don’t allow people to own them, you know — was a loyal Republican and that was fine. Cats are more conservative. Dogs, I believe, are all Democrats.

She has become a Democrat and is thinking of adopting a child. If that happens, I shall have to consider new living arrangements.

Now, change my litter, take a picture of me sitting on the piano and post it to Facebook. I haven’t been on social media since the unpleasantness with JD Vance. Such a weird man. I may have to rig a voting machine or two.

ME: Can I ask ….

CAT: We are finished. Don’t forget to take the soiled litter on the way out.

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(For an alternate point of view, see: Point: Republican Transparency Trumps Democratic Party Bosses’ Machinations)

The 2024 Democratic United States presidential and vice presidential candidates are being called the most liberal in election history by some news media outlets. Voters must choose our current Vice President Kamala Harris or former 45th President Donald Trump.

Each side has to decide to make changes for our country. Voters across America do want a change for the better. For example, having less violent crime, excessive protests, bringing down inflation, and no wars are key issues. There’s concern about our joining wars in parts of the world, such as what is sadly still occurring in the Middle East.

Fixing our country’s culture as a whole is the common goal.

There is no side that is right or wrong in this election. Both Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance political party teams have to focus on a stronger, less problematic America for our future economic government.

When our presidential candidates hold rallies and campaign events and are interviewed on a national news program, it would be nice to see less of the going back and forth, such as practically insulting each other as opponents and competitors and the “I got you moment.”

It seems that sometimes it is more for clickbait and viral content, such as when the news media bring up the presidential candidates’ past on what policies and actions they passed through. It is not helpful to keep repeating their decision-making from a previous political perspective, especially if it is not going to happen for the current governmental system administration.

Understandably, a candidate wants to be entertaining to all voters, including all age groups and not just being wholly standard but in our current political environment that we are all in. However, it is best to stay completely focused on the pressing issues that America has.

The way some media news sets the narrative is by complaining about each candidate almost as if it is on a personal agenda, not steering towards only the problems that need addressing. According to the U.S. Department of State website, our main global policy issue concerns are listed as anti-corruption and transparency, arms control and nonproliferation, climate and environment, the climate crisis, combating drugs and crime, countering terrorism, cyber issues, economic prosperity and trade policy, energy, global health, global women’s issues, human rights and democracy, refugee and humanitarian assistance, human trafficking, the ocean and polar affairs, science, technology and innovation, treaties and international agreements.

The 18 listed policy issues should be the main focus.

Things in America must get better sorted for all citizens, excluding their economic and financial status. Talking about taxes is getting repetitive. In future debates, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Tim Walz, and JD Vance hopefully can make an effort to put their personal feelings about one another aside and keep it civil for us as voters.

Whoever is elected on Tuesday, Nov. 5, as our 47th president of the United States will bring a new, fresh change for the betterment of our country because we need it progressively and aggressively.

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Hours before Vice President Kamala Harris came to town to introduce new running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) to Americans, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) held a rally with some 500 supporters at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia to make his case for the Trump-Vance ticket.

It’s part of a counterprogramming strategy by former president Donald Trump’s campaign. As Harris and Walz barnstorm swing states over the next five days, the Vance campaign blitz won’t be far behind.

While Vance didn’t address the Walz pick in his speech, he did discuss it with reporters afterward, noting Harris’ snub of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who had been widely viewed as the frontrunner for second spot. According to Vance, Harris caved to pressure from within her party not to pick a Jewish running mate.

“The biggest problem with the Tim Walz pick, it’s not Tim Walz himself — it’s Kamala Harris,” Vance said. “That when given an opportunity, she will bend the knee to the most radical elements of her party, and that’s exactly what she did here.”

Vance added that he “felt bad” that Shapiro “had to run away from his Jewish heritage because of what the Democrats are saying about him,” calling it “scandalous and disgraceful.”

Democrats dispute that claim.

Citing the wars between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas along with the current instability in the stock market, Vance told rally attendees Harris brought chaos wherever she went.

“Everything that Kamala Harris touches has been a disaster and we’ve got to kick her out of the United States government, not give her a promotion,” he said to cheers and applause.

Vance used most of the time to criticize the Biden-Harris administration’s policy on the southern border. The White House gave Harris the task of addressing the flow of illegal immigrants from Mexico and the “northern triangle” nations of Central America, earning her the moniker “Border Czar” from the media.

Vance said Harris was an abject failure when it came to securing the border. The result, he added, was a flood of deadly fentanyl into communities across the country, including Pennsylvania.

The event featured several Pennsylvanians who said they had suffered from the Biden-Harris administration’s bad policies.

Denise Trask discussed how her 26-year-old daughter died of an accidental overdose at a Philadelphia mall after buying fentanyl-laced heroin.

“Fentanyl is killing thousands and thousands of people every day,” she said. Trask added the administration ignored the “border travesty” and caused families to lose loved ones.

One South Philadelphia woman told rally attendees that her mother has Narcan in her closet because her brother is an opioid addict.

“I feel compelled to address the opioid crisis that’s affecting our community,” Denise Briggs said. “Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies have led the city I once knew to become unrecognizable.”

Vance took time to answer questions from the press — something Harris has yet to do since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. Asked about Harris choosing Walz to be her running mate, Vance quipped, “They make an interesting tag team because Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, and the few that got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail.”

Vance also said he called Walz to congratulate him on the selection because he wanted to be nice. Walz didn’t answer so he left a message, Vance said.

He was noncommittal on when the pair would be on the debate stage together. Vance said it was important to make sure Democrats didn’t try to pull a fast one at their convention this month and nominate someone else.

“Of course, we want to have a robust debate again because we believe the American people have the right to have their political leaders try to persuade them,” he said.

Rally attendees liked what they heard and expressed support for Vance and GOP presidential nominee Trump.

“He’s the definition of the American Dream. If you work hard, you can do anything,” Downingtown resident Kate Collins told DVJournal.

“They bring a level of normalcy back to the country,” said Bryan Shine of Phoenixville.

Shine said the previous Trump administration was good for the economy with lower gas and grocery prices. He noted he works two jobs now to pay bills. “I can barely survive. It’s really difficult,” he said.

Others at the event pointed to the Biden administration’s foreign policy as extremely problematic.

Philadelphia lawyer J. Matthew Wolfe told DVJournal he still gets sick when thinking about the Afghanistan withdrawal that left the Taliban in charge. “My stomach still tightens up when I  think about the vision of people holding on to the airplanes,” he said. “It’s seared into my mind.”

For Vietnam-era Army veteran Frank G. Criniti, it was Biden not remembering the 18 service members who died under his watch, including the 13 in Afghanistan. “That put a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of us veterans,” he said.