Battle of the Conventions! Democratics versus Republicans

This week, America passed the grisly milestone of 300,000 dead from COVID-19. With the first vaccines being televised as being given to VP Mike Pence and others, only 50% of Americans and just 25% of African American males are committed to getting the jab. Dr DeHart gives us some insights into why so many Americans - particularly minorities - are against getting the vaccine, and the grim truth of trying to protect her community from a rampaging virus. 

We discuss: 

• The Tuskegee Experiment and why African Americans have a legitimate fear of government injections 
• ICE detainees being forced to have hysterectomies . 

We are immensely grateful to Dr DeHart for not only her huge contribution and sacrifice in helping people in her community, but also for her time in joining us on Greenland and sharing her candid feelings about what is happening. It's grim but with people like Dr DeHart on the frontline, there is hope! 

We are delighted to welcome Madam Secretary and former Secretary of Labor in Kansas, Delia Garcia to Greenland. Madam Secretary is in Texas on the eve of the US Presidential Election, where voters are lining up for up to 11 hours to cast their vote in an election that is already breaking records for voter participation.

The Latino vote is shaping up to be a critical factor in this election and we get the lowdown on why that is, and how you keep people wanting to keep lining up for more than 11 hours! 

We also take audience questions - thanks to listener Jensen for the great ones! 

Donald and Diana are joined by special guest, Judge Phillip Journey, a Republican  running for re-election for the Division 1 judge of the Kansas Eighteenth Judicial District. Phil is also a board member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), which boasts 5 million members and is arguably the most potent activist organisation in the US.

In this episode, we chat to Phil about:

- the politicisation of judicial appointments in the US 

- why Americans won't lay down their guns as Australians did after the Port Arthur massacre

- his view of the nation's priorities in the wake of the 2020 Presidential Election, no matter who wins.

We're incredibly grateful to have Phil share his candid insights with us on Greenland (and some tips for buddying sports gun enthusiasts). 

Links to some of the things we discussed: 

Hacking Your Mind TV series 

FiveThirtyEight 

270toWin

Real Clear Politics 

Further reading: 

Politicization of the Federal Judicial Selection article by P. Journey 

It's been a hectic week in the US, with the grisly milestone of 200,000 American deaths from COVID-19, the Great Debate that wasn't between Trump and Biden, and finally news that the President himself, together with the First Lady and members of the Republican campaign inner circle tested positive to the virus.

Donald and Diana tiptoe through the mud to try to make some sense of it (and offer a controversial, unfounded but maybe possibly true theory about that awks exchange between Melania Trump and her husband at the end of the debate. 

Over the last two weeks, we've borne witness to two very different conventions  - the Democratic National Convention - heavy on the heart strings, celebrities and motherhood statements in place of specific policies. Next up, the Republication Convention - loads of Trumps, 'don't mention The War/aka virus' and animated pitches from Trump's offspring and their sometimes outlandish partners. And the RNC happened right in the midst of yet another brutal assault by police on an unarmed African American man, Jacob Blake, shot seven times in the back, in front of his children. We talk about Donald and Diana's reactions to watching the first ever virtual conventions, and what's at stake. 

Joe Biden is keeping us all in suspense about his choice of running mate, ahead of the Democratic National Convention on 17-20 August 2020. This episode we look at the mooted frontrunners and hear Donald's wildcard tip for who it may be.  

On 25 May 2020, 46-year-old George Floyd died while in police custody. He was handcuffed, pinned down by three police officers, one of whom used his knee to restrain George Floyd face down on the ground. Struggling to breathe, George told the officer he couldn't breathe. His pleas, together with those of bystanders went ignored by the officer, who callously kept his knee pressed on George Floyd until (and beyond) he took his last breath.

The footage is abhorrent. What's worse is that this is not the first time such as act has been perpetrated by police officers - those who have sworn to preserve and protect life.  

Donald and Diana reflect on George Floyd's death and why we can't look away from it. 

When Trump moved into the White House in 2016, he replaced  one of the great orators in American modern history, Barack Obama. Trump communicates like no other President ever has, or ever will again. We talk to a 25-year veteran of the speechwriting profession and director of the Professional Speechwriters Association, David Murray, about  what's changed for speechwriters now, why the way we talk to each other - at work, at home and in politics - needs to change.  

David is a highly respected veteran of the speechwriting profession. He's the founder of Pro Rhetoric, an organisation that publishes Vital Speeches of the Day Magazine, oversees the Cicero Speechwriting Awards and convenes the Professional Speechwriters Association and the Executive Communication Council. 

As well as the World Conference of the PSA held annually in Washington, David convened the inaugural Asia-Pacific PSA Conference in Sydney 2019, with another scheduled for 2022 (was supposed to be 2021, but...virus).  

If you'd like to join or want to learn more about it, check it out. It's a fantastic network of professional communicators from all over the globe, with lots of great tools and content to access. 

Some of the things we chat about in the episode: 

Death of 25-year-old African American Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia on 23 February 2020 

Bobby Kennedy's speech informing an African American audience about the death of Martin Luther King 

Fred Rogers' speech during an appearance before the US Senate seeking funding for national public TV for children. 

Australian speechwriter and author, Lucinda Holdforth 

An American Prayer: In conversation with my dead father by David Murray 

More about our guest, David Murray 

David co-wrote the New York Times-bestselling memoir Tell My Sons (Random House, 2013) and Raised By Mad Men, a memoir about his parents' careers in 1960s advertising business. 

He’s written for The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, the Chicago Tribune to name just a few. His new book, An Effort to Understand will be published in early 2021. It's a non fiction book about how to hear more clearly and speak more truly to rebuild relationships in your family, your workplace, your community and your society. 

Is life in America what we dream it to be sometimes here in Australia? In this episode, Donald and Diana invite special guest, Inna Tysrlin to share her perspectives after eight years living in the US.  

Inna spent her first four years living and working in New York City, and the rest of the time living and studying in rural Appalachia. She's worked in corporate America and recently finished graduate school in Ohio, studying playwriting. She's gone from the New York hustle to living in one of the most economically challenged parts of the country.  What a ride! Inna takes us on a realistic look at life in rural America and how she feels being back in Australia during a global pandemic. 

About Inna Tsyrlin

Inna is a highly talented dramatist and content creator who followed her dreams to the US and returned to Australia on advice of the Australian Government during Convid-19 (and pretty much because if she got sick in the US without healthcare, she'd be in a rather precarious position). She has written numerous plays and you can check out her work here. 

We're thrilled to have her on as our guest and to welcome her to the Greenland family! 

In this episode, we're delighted to be joined by Ryan Mickler, who gives us the goss on Bernie Sanders' campaign, why he hasn't yet dropped out of the race and how his chances are being impacted by the Coronavirus. 

Thanks to Ryan for being a good sport about being asked if he's a 'Bernie Bro". 

And we're excited to take our first 'call' from a Greenland listener in our audience segment! 

Here's some links to things we talked about in this episode: 

1. Article in The Age 6 March 2020, Meet the MelBerniens spruiking Bernie Sanders from half a world away
2. Pat McAfee watches AFL (Australian Rules  Football) for the first time and we love his reaction! Sadly, he only got to watch Round 1 before the Coronavirus kicked in.  You can follow him here @PatMcAfeeShow.