A Unity Summit?

 It came out yesterday that at some point in September....President Biden is to hold a unity summit at the White House.

A unity summit?  Yes.

Date?  15 September (at least it's on the official calendar).

The general topic?  They want to discuss 'corrosive effects' of violence with the American public safety and democracy.

Who is invited?  Well....what they say is that folks from various civil rights groups, religious folks, some business executives, some law enforcement folks, anti-gun folks, ex-members of violent hate groups (meaning they changed), some victims (it's left to you to figure out how they are victims), and then some cultural figures (probably Hollywood stars, pop-singers (certainly not Brittney Spears), and Instagram influencers).

Yeah, it does sound like some circus group, and it can't possibly be more than 100 to 150 folks total.  

How this will work?  I'm assuming that President Biden gives some 8-minute talk at the beginning.....the groups break up into four or five focus topics, and Joe visits each one for ten minutes.....then disappears.

All of this woven into the evening news for NPR, CNN, MSNBC.....with tons of prepared material?  Well....yeah, that's probably been a project underway for several months.

So you ask yourself....how does public confidence stand now with safety and the  political process?  

I'll make these three comments:

1.  In recent memory (the nation since 1970), I've never seen such a low confidence level in terms of public safety.  Trying to convince me to attend the Mardi Gras, or hang out in central Atlanta, or ride the NY City subway system?  No.....I just won't do it.  I think more than 70-percent of the nation would agree....they think about their safety more than once a week now.

2.  At the current pace of thing.....democracy probably is in a spiral, and has been for more than two decades.  If you asked most people, I think the majority believe they have the ability to influence their county and state political apparatus....more....than the federal or national apparatus.  

3.  Finally, is there any real value of President Biden having a summit?  This is a funny question.  Maybe he thinks he has the charm or charisma of Barak Obama, but that would require something that we've never seen out of Joe Biden.  So I think of the White House crew working this as a PR thing....more than something of value.

Will Elon Musk be there? I doubt it.  Will Joe Rogan be there?  I doubt it.  Will Peter Thiel be there?  I doubt it.

Shouldn't we be talking about out-of-control spending, the border problem, and reckless college loan crap?  Well....yeah, but the whole mid-term election now....is really based on this unity conference deal, and some presentation that only through a 'vote-for-democrats' angle....can we restore democracy, and protect your butt on the way to work each day.  

Frankly, I don't see much value in this conference....but at least everyone gets free coffee and donuts for the episode, and this probably ends after three hours of hopeless chatter.