He may not be able to get a job in his chosen field, but Colin Kaepernick can get recognition for the spotlight he’s shown on inequality and social injustice.
Sports Illustrated announced today that Kaepernick is the recipient of the 2017 Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award. He is the youngest to receive the award since SI began the honor.
From the announcement:
In the last 16 months, Kaepernick’s truth has been twisted, distorted and used for political gain. It has cost him at least a year of his NFL career and the income that should have come with it. But still, it is his truth. He has not wavered from it. He does not regret speaking it. He has caused millions of people to examine it. And, quietly, he has donated nearly a million dollars to support it.
For all those reasons—for his steadfastness in the fight for social justice, for his adherence to his beliefs no matter the cost—Colin Kaepernick is the recipient of the 2017 Sports Illustrated Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.
Each year SI and the Ali family honor a figure who embodies the ideals of sportsmanship, leadership and philanthropy and has used sports as a platform for changing the world.
“I am proud to be able to present this to Colin for his passionate defense of social justice and civil rights for all people,” says Lonnie Ali, Muhammad’s widow. “Like Muhammad, Colin is a man who stands on his convictions with confidence and courage, undaunted by the personal sacrifices he has had to make to have his message heard. And he has used his celebrity and philanthropy to the benefit of some of our most vulnerable community members.”
Previous Legacy winners—including Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jim Brown, Jack Nicklaus and Magic Johnson—were deserving. But no winner has been more fitting than Kaepernick. Ali lost more than three years of his career for his refusal to serve in the military in opposition to the Vietnam War. Kaepernick has lost one year, so far, for his pursuit of social justice.
In tweeting the news, SI wrote, “It is a rare person who gives up what he loves in exchange for what he believes.”
It is a rare person who gives up what he loves in exchange for what he believes.
I don’t know how you write a World AIDS Day proclamation without mentioning the millions of gay men, transgender folks and people of color who have died from the plague, but somehow Donald Trump’s White House has managed to do just that.
The proclamation even goes out of it’s way to mention young girls and women, but none of the main demographics that the disease has ravaged here in the U.S.
Appalling.
But one can only guess mentioning the gays would look like he has sympathy for us, and his supporters can’t stand the idea of that.
Perhaps the White House position is “Can’t do a Pride Month proclamation, but AIDS affects folks other than the gays, so we gotta do ‘something.'”
Additionally, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was scheduled to speak at a World AIDS Day event later today. He’s now cancelled.
The first documented cases of the human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) 36 years ago became the leading edge of an epidemic that swept across the UnitedStates and around the globe, devastating millions of individuals, families, and communities. As a Nation, we felt fear and uncertainty as we struggled to understand this new disease. In the decades since through public and private American leadership, innovation, investment, and compassion we have ushered in a new, hopeful era of prevention and treatment. Today, on World AIDS Day, we honor those who have lost their lives to AIDS, we celebrate the remarkable progress we have made in combatting this disease, and we reaffirm our ongoing commitment to end AIDS as a public health threat.
Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, more than 76million people around the world have become infected with HIV and 35million have died from AIDS. As of 2014, 1.1million people in the UnitedStates are living with HIV. On this day, we pray for all those living with HIV, and those who have lost loved ones to AIDS.
As we remember those who have died and those who are suffering, we commend the immense effort people have made to control and end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In the UnitedStates, sustained public and private investments in HIV prevention and treatment have yielded major successes. The number of annual HIV infections fell 18 percent between 2008 and 2014, saving an estimated $14.9billion in lifetime medical costs. We have also experienced successes around the globe. Through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and its data-driven investments in partnership with more than 50countries, we are supporting more than 13.3million people with lifesaving antiretroviral treatment. We remain deeply committed to supporting adolescent girls and young women through this program, who are up to 14times more likely to contract HIV than young men in some sub-Saharan African countries. Our efforts also include the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDSfree, Mentored, and Safe) public-private partnership, which has resulted in a 2540percent decline in new HIV infections among young women in districts in 10 highly affected African countries during the last 2 years.
While we have made considerable progress in recent decades, tens of thousands of Americans are infected with HIV every year. My Administration will continue to invest in testing initiatives to help people who are unaware they are living with HIV learn their status. Internationally, we will rapidly implement the recent “PEPFAR Strategy for Accelerating HIV/AIDS Epidemic Control “(2017-2020), which uses data to guide investments and efforts in more than 50 countries to reach epidemic control.
Due to America’s leadership and private sector philanthropy and innovation, we have saved and improved millions of lives and shifted the HIV/AIDS epidemic from crisis toward control. We are proud to continue our work with many partners, including governments, private-sector companies, philanthropic organizations, multilateral institutions, civil society and faith-based organizations, people living with HIV, and many others.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the UnitedStates of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December1, 2017, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of the other territories subject to the jurisdiction of the UnitedStates, and the American people to join me in appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support and compassion to those living with HIV.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of November, in the year of our Lord twothousandseventeen, and of the Independence of the UnitedStates ofAmerica the twohundred and forty-second.
Tully Borland, of the ultra-conservative The Federalist, has gone all and said in public what many conservatives really feel about Alabama GOP nominee Roy Moore: Even if Moore did have sex with a 14 year-old, it’s better to vote for him rather than a Democrat.
Here’s the main thrust of the piece:
Here is one thing we know and should admit from the start: in his early thirties, Moore had a penchant for dating teenagers. Apparently, this was not an uncommon occurrence during this time. In fact, this practice has a long history and is not without some merit if one wants to raise a large family.
To have a large family, the wife must start having kids when she is young. The husband needs to be well-established and able to support the family, in which case he will typically need to marry when older.
Times have changed. But, like it or not, four decades ago Moore dated teenagers (even his wife is 14 years younger than he).
But let’s suppose the accusations are mostly true. Then from a conservative moral perspective, Moore is guilty of lying, trying to have pre-marital sexual relations with girls half his age, and pressuring them to do so without first determining that they reciprocate. There is no sugar-coating what he did. Moore was a dirt bag and is currently lying about his actions rather than confessing the truth and asking for forgiveness.
If elected, Moore would join the ranks of other undignified politicians who have been liars and fornicators. I have a 14-year-old daughter. If I caught him doing what was alleged, for starters I would kick him where it counts. Hard. That being said, I don’t think it’s wrong to vote for Moore.
Borland goes on to say that voting for Democrat Doug Jones would be far worse than Moore because Jones supports abortion rights which kills more people.
See? Like that.
Even conservatives on Twitter weren’t buying this load of crap.
There it is. The Federalist says it’s okay to vote for a sexual predator & assaulter of children because abortion. pic.twitter.com/tvKJdUKHLP
“I have a 14-year old daughter. If I caught Roy Moore doing what was alleged, I would kick him where it counts. But if he did it to 9 girls who aren’t MY daughter, I’m ok with putting him in the US Senate.” – The Federalist, redux
Call Me by Your Name stars Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet sat down with Ellen DeGeneres today sharing behind-the-scenes stories of making the award-winning film including their first rehearsal which apparently consisted of rolling around in the grass making out.
Chalamet also noted the new-found dangers of “razor burn” making out with the handsome Hammer.
“That’s a real thing that people deal with,” shared Chalamet.
Ellen concurred, “Oh yes. Yes. I don’t anymore, but I did….”
Hilarity ensues.
The two actors clearly have great chemistry together. Can’t wait to see the film.
I keep hearing about this “War on Christmas” thing.
But where is it?
Donald Trump has said many times he will “bring Christmas back.” But where did it go?
Did we stop celebrating Christmas? I must have missed that one.
Trump tells folks all the time that we’re going to be able to say “Merry Christmas” again – but who stopped?
I know part of the rant from Trump is aimed at his favorite target, President Obama, who the Trumpster claims banned the words “Merry Christmas” from the nation.
But did he?
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes sheds light on whether or not Barack Obama ever said the holiday Christmas greeting.
Donald Trump is claiming victory in the War on Christmas, saying he brought “Merry Christmas” back to the White House. We found plenty of evidence proving him wrong… #innerspic.twitter.com/fGBSbYybvx
The White House has developed a plan to force out Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, whose relationship with President Trump has been strained, and replace him with Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, perhaps within the next several weeks, senior administration officials said on Thursday.
Mr. Pompeo would be replaced at the C.I.A. by Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas who has been a key ally of the president on national security matters, according to the White House plan.
Mr. Cotton has signaled that he would accept the job if offered, said the officials, who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive deliberations before decisions are announced.
Tillerson has been known to call Trump a moron, so clearly, Trump is looking for someone less inclined to tell the truth.
Should Tillerson leave the State Department by the end of the year, it would be the shortest tenure of any secretary of state in 120 years not ended by a change of presidents.
Campaigning in Alabama, beleagured Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore specifically accused LGBT people for the current spate of allegations of sexual misconduct leveled at him by several women.
Moore, who has been plagued by sexual misconduct allegations since the Washington Post reported that he allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl while he was 32 in the 1970s, echoed a familiar refrain of blaming “liberals” for the allegations. But Wednesday he also openly blamed gay people and socialists in his aggressive attack.
“They’re liberals. They don’t hold conservative values,” Moore said of the people he says are trying to ruin his campaign with allegations. “They are the lesbian, gay, bisexual, who want to change our culture. They are socialists who want to change our way of life and put man above God and the government is our God.”
The comments garnered applause from the congregation of the southwestern Alabama church near Mobile.
Somehow, it’s always our fault. Hurricanes, tornadoes, sexual allegations…
Comedian Tony Barbieri, known for his skewering of Donald Trump rallies during the 2016 presidential run, also made an appearance.
Some news items you might have missed: • Sixteen men arrested last month during a crackdown on homosexuality by the authorities in Egypt have been sentenced to three years in prison. • The Trump Organization has announced the new Trumpstore.com which sells a $32 Trump Golf hat made in Bangladesh, and a $25 faux gold bouillion “TRUMP” coin bank made in China. Whatever happened to “America First?” • If you like my short and sweet News Round-Ups, you’re definitely going to like kenneth-in-the-212’s “Remains of the Day” posts 🙂 • Mattel’s Barbie doll teamed up with designer Aimme Song to promote Song’s new “Love Wins” t-shirts. As expected, the haters hate it. • YouTuber Elle Mills is getting tons of attention for her awesome, creative coming out video. Over 800,000 views in two days. Check it out below.
Earlier today, Donald Trump retweeted three anti-Islamic videos posted by Jayda Fransen, a leader of Britain First. The group is so heinous they are banned from mosques in England and Wales.
Fransen was convicted of religiously aggravated harassment in November 2016 after abusing a woman wearing a hijab.
President Trump is retweeting the deputy leader of Britain First, a fringe, far-right, ultranationalist British group.
The “leader of the free world” is not only giving oxygen to fascists, but European fascists. Astonishing. pic.twitter.com/gPmydDMKoE
Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in. The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city.
In addition to “amplifying” the voice of a fascist group, the videos Trump retweeted have been called into question as to the veracity of the content.
One of the videos, showing a “Muslim migrant” assailant beating the Dutch boy is in fact neither a migrant or a Muslim.
So, you understand what a bone-headed move this was, yes?
Folks in the UK were so upset the office of Prime Minister Theresa May issued a statement saying Trump was “wrong” to retweet material from a group that promotes “hateful narratives.”
“British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents: decency tolerance and respect,” said the statement.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the media it didn’t matter if the videos he retweeted were real or not.
“Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real and that is what the president is talking about,” Sanders told reporters.
Question on President Trump’s retweets this morning: Does it matter if it’s a fake video?
Sarah Sanders: “I’m not talking about the nature of the video. I think you’re focusing on the wrong thing. The threat is real, and that’s what the President is talking about.” pic.twitter.com/Nh2YyuLD01
Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in. The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city.
Former President Obama made this video message for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s special World AIDS Day event encouraging folks to take part in supporting the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“This World AIDS Day, everyone has a role to play. Jimmy Kimmel’s not just a talk-show host, he’s an activist. Bono’s not just a musician, he’s ring master of a whole shopping extravaganza,” Obama says in the video. “And me, I’m not just a former president, I’m a husband who hasn’t done his Christmas shopping yet.”
“When it comes to the fight against HIV/AIDs, there’s some genuinely good news to share,” Obama said. “For the first time in history, more than half of all people living with the virus are on life-saving medication.”
And he’s right. But those kinds of changes only happen when people actually DO something.
Hit the video below and find out what you can do this World AIDS Day, Friday December 1, 2017.
p.s. Remember what it was like to have a smart, dignified president who spoke about important issues like saving lives…?
