August 11, 2019

ANOTHER US athlete demonstrated on the podium. . .

. . .at the Pan Am Games.

Yesterday, it was about fencer Race Imboden:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212366525

This time, it's track & field hammer thrower Gwen Berry:
https://twitter.com/nzaccardi/status/1160354438789382144
Her profile:
https://www.teamusa.org/usa-track-and-field/athletes/Gwen-Berry

"Somebody has to talk about the things that are too uncomfortable to talk about. Somebody has to stand for all of the injustices that are going on in America and a president who’s making it worse," Berry told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday night.

"It’s too important to not say something," Berry added. "Something has to be said. If nothing is said, nothing will be done, and nothing will be fixed, and nothing will be changed."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/nancy-armour/2019/08/10/pan-american-games-us-fencer-race-imboden-kneels-national-anthem/1976426001/

August 10, 2019

USA fencer takes a knee on the podium

at the Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

Race Imboden, gold medalist in team foil, bronze medalist in individual foil

https://twitter.com/Race_Imboden/status/1159988047921975296

His profile:
https://www.usafencing.org/page/show/693645-race-imboden

August 10, 2019

USA fencer takes a knee on the podium

Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru.

Race Imboden, Gold meal in team foil, Bronze medal in individual foil.

https://twitter.com/Race_Imboden/status/1159988047921975296
His profile:
https://www.usafencing.org/page/show/693645-race-imboden

August 5, 2019

Beto O'Rourke (re Trump): "Members of the press, what the fuck?"

https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1158375056126480384
"You know the shit that he's been saying"

Democrat Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke lashes out after an emotional day, telling the press to "connect the dots about what [Trump] has been doing in the country" after a mass-shooting in his hometown El Paso.

August 5, 2019

Beto O'Rourke (re Trump): "Members of the press, what the fuck?"

https://twitter.com/Channel4News/status/1158375056126480384
"You know the shit that he's been saying"

Democrat Presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke lashes out after an emotional day, telling the press to "connect the dots about what [Trump] has been doing in the country" after a mass-shooting in his hometown El Paso.

July 20, 2019

Daily Trump Temperament Advisory System

July 10, 2019

Megan Rapinoe Celebrates Diversity of USWNT at NYC City Hall speech

July 8, 2019

Nike's new ad re the USWNT on their World Cup victory

July 7, 2019

Progressive Populist: Why The World Cup Makes Me Love My Country

https://www.populist.com/25.13.schmidt.html

I’ll admit it — I’m not a sports guy. I have no idea who played in the Super Bowl this year, or when the ill-named “World” Series takes place. And yet, when it comes to international soccer tournaments, my attitude changes dramatically. Every couple years or so, I suddenly get into sports.

Reason Number One is fairly self-explanatory, I think: these are athletic events watched by the entire world. That, alone, is unique in the world of sports that Americans watch. College football is important to the southeastern United States; the NBA matters to the two coasts of the US; the “World” Series of baseball matters to the US and maybe a couple other countries. International soccer, on the other hand, is watched by the entire world.

This is reason enough for a guy like me—not a sports fan by any measure—to get into soccer once every few years. When you’ve watched the latest World Cup, you have an automatic conversation piece to discuss with any person, anywhere in the world. Everyone’s seen it.

Then there’s Reason Number Two: the caliber of people in the United States who get into the World Cup.

American soccer fans are not your ordinary sports fans—they don’t usually scream in bars when you’re trying to order a beer, or go on a looting spree downtown when their team loses. No, World Cup people are a different breed of “sports people.” Indeed, they’re a different breed of American.

I’ve found American soccer fans to be some of the most educated, internationally-minded citizens around. These are the Americans who know that Mexico has paved roads and plumbing. They know that the USSR doesn’t exist anymore. They realize that Saddam Hussein didn’t plan 9/11. For that matter, they are able to find Iraq on a map.

Reason Number Three is the prophetic vision that the World Cup offers us of a very different kind of world—one where the United States is just another country, no more, no less.
In international soccer, we stop claiming to be the world’s savior, or policeman or leader, and we just enjoy a little friendly competition between relative equals. When you root for your team in the World Cup, it’s the one blessed moment when you get to wave the Stars and Stripes without all the historical baggage associated with that flag. You’re not rooting for unprovoked invasions or global military hegemony. You’re not rooting for drone strikes or “Mission Accomplished” or Guantanamo or NAFTA. You’re not rooting for your country because you actually think it’s the best country on earth, or that it’s the nation that “invented freedom.” You’re rooting for your team for one simple reason: because it is yours.

And that—that kind of pride—is true patriotism.

(snip)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Much more at the link:
https://www.populist.com/25.13.schmidt.html

The Progressive Populist: https://www.populist.com/

(boldface/italic emphasis is mine - DMH)

July 4, 2019

Willie Nelson and Paul Simon - American Tune