Kamala Harris The Truths We Hold

 I read "The Truths We Hold" over the time of Kamala Harris' first official interview as the Democratic presidential candidate.  After the interview one of the criticisms concerned that she "kept" her same values implying that she has flip flopped and can't  be trusted.  In reality she is a politician who has realized although still striving for ideals has to get power in order to make progress.  Her ideals are well worth supporting.    

This book was published prior to her taking part in the Democratic primary for the 2020 election.  A lot of interesting things have happened since, but the reader will appreciate how she has fitted in.

She feels that solving problems requires getting to the roots.  Learning that 80% of California prisoners failed to complete high school she delved further realized that most had truancy habits in the elementary grades.  Up until about grade 3 the focus was to learn to read and then to read to learn.  Truancy had many causes, but bottom line poverty was a major factor.  The solutions revolve around improving child support in their formative years.  

 I have been a big fan of hers for over four years, but have been mostly mispronouncing her name.  Easy to remember "comma la".

I admired her for some spoken words of hers that seemed more to the point than others.  Reading this book helps to understand what she has been through and what she is striving towards.  She tackled a wide range of problems with tenacity.

Sex crimes were an early responsibility as Attorney General.  She was concerned about abused wives, women forced into prostitution as well as rape.  She was criticized for putting so many young black men in jail.  This helped draw attention to bail laws which make it difficult for poor people to get out of jail to defend themselves and take care of family obligations.  More criticism resulted.

She worked with Beau Biden on major assault of banking mortgage abuses.   She was able to stand up to wealthy bankers who had been taking advantages of consumers, especially poorer ones.  The positive relation with Beau Biden was noted by his father Joe Biden.

She also dealt justice to fraudsters (like Mr. Trump).  Always on the alert to protect consumers that were too often seen as prey by some wealthy people. 

California as a border state was a major target for drug traffickers.  She developed contacts in Mexico  and found ways to curb the traffic.

Same sex marriage  was legalized in California, but then revoked and then renewed.  Kamala fought for the legality.  She performed a ceremony in 2013.

Doug Emhoff entered Kamala's life though a friend who encouraged a blind date.   He had two children and an ex wife and Kamala was more than accepted by all.  She noted discreetly that a single woman in politics had to be careful as critics were on the prowl.  She married Doug and he has proved to be a very supportive partner. 

Kamala noted that Russia finds racism together with LGBTQ and immigration issues are American weaknesses that they are able to exploit.  Divisive politics are hurtful for all Americans.

The upcoming debate between Trump and Harris will show how she deals with unreasonable criticism which so far has been very good.