If he'd quit saying important things, I'd quit posting them

John Oliver says more intelligent and important things in this video than our current presidential candidates have said in their combined lives.

Someone's finally acting like a presidential candidate

No, it's not Hillary.  Since there's no chance it's Trump, I'll get right to it.  It's Bill Weld, the Libertarian Vice-Presidential candidate, running with Gary Johnson.  Since everything is so confused lately, I'll be really clear.  What makes this "presidential" is that he's putting the needs of the country before his own needs.  Not something I see Hillary doing very much and not something Trump is even capable of doing.  Despite that, in agreement with Mr. Weld, I'll say, "Go Hillary".

This post is for the vast number of conservative Christians who read this blog

Ignoring the fact that if you tried to define behavior that is the polar opposite of how Jesus Christ supposedly acted, you would come up with Trump, there's still this:  Trump doesn't even know the Bible that he professes to love.

If you are a conservative Christian, your thinking about life is so radically different than mine that it causes me difficulty in knowing how to even talk to you.  But this here, this seems pretty clear cut.  If all you care about are other white, conservative Christians, this should still bother you.  He's lying.  He doesn't know anything about your religion.  He's using you to accomplish his own goals.  HE DOESN'T EVEN REPRESENT YOUR SICK, TWISTED, LITTLE WORLD.  Donald Trump lives for Donald Trump.  That's it.  When it's convenient for him to dump you, he'll do that.  And then where will you be?  Where will we all be?

I feel like I should be saying more against Donald Trump's presidential bid

But, in reality, why?  If at this point in time you are still undecided about this election, then nothing I can say will sway you.  I understand not being enthused about Hillary Clinton, but that's just not relevant.  Donald Trump is in no way fit to be President of the United States.  If the idea of casting a vote for him is not abhorrent to you, then you have an issue that talking about politics won't solve.

Not shocking

"We totally disavow hateful rhetoric online or otherwise," Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks wrote in an emailed statement.  While, at the same time, encouraging the people who spew those words.  Have you people never seen/read 1984?  V for Vendetta?  Pay attention, people.

Emmett Till's historical marker

This sickens me.  If you don't know who Emmett Till is, you should.  Do some research.  Here.  I got you started.

Say something!

Baseball reporter Amy Donaldson said, “When men stand up to other men, sexual harassment ends. When women stand up to men, the behavior gets rationalized and we get criticized.”  This is true of racism and other forms of discrimination.  If you're a member of the group who is committing the offense, you have the power to stop it.  Remember that the next time you're in that kind of situation.

I always hated Michael Jordan during his career.

After he retired, I was able to see him for what he was:  The GOAT.  I'm not waiting this time.  I see Gregg Popovich for what he is now, while he's still coaching.  Here's a recent example.  I hope it helps you to see him honestly too.

Excited, but skeptical

Whole Foods has opened a store on the South Side of Chicago, in the low-income neighborhood of Englewood.  I have my doubts about Whole Foods' ability to provide products that the people of that neighborhood will find valuable, but that's not really relevant.  They'll succeed or they'll fail and that's on them.  What is relevant and interesting is that they are trying at all.  The South Side is a vast food desert and where there are grocery stores, their food quality is usually quite poor.  It doesn't seem like the kind of place that Whole Foods would be interested in.  If they can manage to make it work, it might be the beginning of the end of food deserts in the United States.  And a serious step forward on the road to ending inequality.  A round of applause to Whole Foods for the attempt.  I hope it succeeds.

A person of honor takes a step backward

Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, long known for her ability to speak honestly and intelligently about a whole range of legal and cultural issues in our country, said in a recent interview,

When asked by Couric how she feels about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and others athletes, refusing to stand for the anthem, Ginsburg replied, “I think it’s really dumb of them.”
“Would I arrest them for doing it? No,” Ginsburg elaborated. “I think it’s dumb and disrespectful. I would have the same answer if you asked me about flag burning. I think it’s a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn’t lock a person up for doing it. I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act.”
Couric then asked, “But when it comes to these football players, you may find their actions offensive, but what you’re saying is, it’s within their rights to exercise those actions?”
“Yes,” said Ginsburg. “If they want to be stupid, there’s no law that should be preventive. If they want to be arrogant, there’s no law that prevents them from that. What I would do is strongly take issue with the point of view that they are expressing when they do that.”

I'm not interested in the legal aspects of what she said because there's no confusion about that.  I am interested to hear that a person who usually thinks so clearly can be so obviously wrong on such an important issue.  Dumb?  Disrespectful? Arrogant?  I think these kids just got a lesson in just how important these issues are and how much work still needs to be done.  There's nothing dumb or disrespectful about it.  Does Ruth Bader Ginsburg really believe that standing for a song is more important that calling attention to the need to do something about the serious racial problems we have in this country?  It's hard to imagine she actually said that.

If she were a regular person, I would look to her words, "I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act" and "What I would do is strongly take issue with the point of view that they are expressing when they do that" and think to myself, "Is this an emotional issue?  Is she feeling attacked, much like Trump supporters, and responding by trying to shove African Americans back in their place?"  But she's Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so I just can't seem to believe that I need to ask myself those questions.  For now, I'll leave the deciphering of her motivations up to history, while I take a knee.

Update.

Why do political comedians say smarter things than politicians?

Watch.

"Family values"

If you're a conservative, you need to ask yourself if this is what you value.

Must accomplish...

I've had a tab up for several days, waiting to write a post about the United Nations report about how African Americans are treated in this country.  Life seems to be conspiring to prevent me from writing that post, but I cannot allow that report to go by without notice.  So, for now, here are some links to a couple of articles about the report.  I can't link directly to the report, but there's a link to it at the beginning of the first article I linked to.  I urge you to read it/about it.

A fantastic article

 In this article, written by Tamryn Spruill, it says:

"Kaepernick and his comrades have exposed the fact that some Americans fear equality because equality means losing advantage. Equality, however, does not mean disadvantage. So for people to oppose equality demonstrates their preference for supremacy, even to the point of having supreme power over who lives and who dies.
This will no longer be tolerated."

She says many other well-thought-out things.  You should read it.

 

ESPN is now censoring protests

From this article: "Last Saturday, 19 members of the ECU marching band channeled San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick by either taking a knee or refusing to play the national anthem during the game against Central Florida."

As a result, ESPN Fayetteville (North Carolina) will not air the team's next game. From the company Chairman, Jeff Andrulonis: "A dozen band members disgraced themselves on the football field this past weekend," he said in the statement. "I'm proud of our country and I'm proud of our soldiers...especially our soldiers from Fort Bragg...fighting for our country."  Is it any surprise that this man is chairman of a company called "Colonial" Media?

I sincerely hope that ESPN will realize that it's not acceptable for the media to be censoring a team's protest by not airing their games and will reverse this decision.

"Understanding makes tolerance unnecessary." -Dan Wilkins

Randall Stephenson is AT&T's CEO and he's white,

“Tolerance is for cowards,” he said. “Being tolerant requires nothing from you but to be quiet and to not make waves, holding tightly to your views and judgments without being challenged. Do not tolerate each other. Work hard, move into uncomfortable territory and understand each other."

How do I sign up for AT&T?  Forget that, Randall Stephenson for president!  Let's dump the two pathetic candidates we have and elect this guy.  Take a few minutes today and watch the video in the second link I gave above.  If you care about this issue, you'll find the time to be well spent.