Jesse Williams delivered a super woke speech at the BET Awards on Sunday.
The actor and activist was rightfully presented with the Humanitarian award for his work in fighting for equal rights and his relentless support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
During his powerful acceptance speech, the actor spoke truthfully about the terrible treatment of black families and why it’s so important to speak up about the systemic racial issues that plague America.
“What’s gonna happen is we’re going to live in a country where we will restructure [white America’s] function and ours,” he told the audience before going on to further demand the respect for all black people. “The thing is… that just because we’re magic does not mean we’re not real.”
Best speech 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥https://t.co/3mJekMGp5I
— Uche Jombo Rodriguez (@uchejombo) June 27, 2016
At one point of his speech, Williams gave praise to black women who too often don’t receive the recognition they deserve for the responsibilities they often carry.
“Black women in particular… have dedicated their lifetime to nurturing everyone before themselves,” he said.
Williams also had a message to share with those who don’t always have the best interest for black people at heart.
“If you have no interest in the equal rights of black people, do not make suggestions for those who do,” he said. “Sit down.”
https://twitter.com/AfAmEducation/status/747888572624044032
https://twitter.com/blackmattersus/status/684706188873842689
https://twitter.com/RevMelech/status/747547557732192256
“…Thirteen-year-old Rita Swen was braiding the hair of her 13-year-old friend Sankay Diallo on the steps near their home on Sunday afternoon. Rita likes listening to gospel music at her church and hopes to one day become a doctor. She had no idea Michelle Obama was coming to Liberia nor why.
“She’s a fine, beautiful figure. I’ve seen her on Facebook,” says Rita of Obama, while folding Sankay’s hair between her thumb and index finger.
Massa David, a tall, lanky 15-year-old in the sixth grade, would like to take Obama on a tour to show her some of the problems with Liberia’s infrastructure.
“I will show her our school, our road and our building because some of the roads are not good, some of the schools are not good and some of the buildings are rotten on the road,” she says.
Doris S. Diggs, 15, a seventh-grader who likes dancing and drinking soft drinks and who aspires to be a medical doctor, agrees.
‘There is difficulty in girls’ education’
Evelyn Sokpo, 12, is in the eighth grade and has dreams of being an astronomer. She likes playing baseball and football. If she were able to take the first lady anywhere it would be Johanssen, a seaside neighborhood in town, so she could see the ocean.
When it comes to education, she wants Obama to know that things need to change.
“Some girl children don’t have money to pay school fees. You will be sent out of school. You will suffer. Some will go on have babies and live a prostitute life,” she says. “Go on Broad Street and you will see them.”
Her friends giggle awkwardly. But even in their early teens they know that this is a reality for many girls.
Poverty, sexual exploitation both in and outside Liberian schools and teen pregnancy are major factors that stop girls from completing their education in Liberia. These topics are likely to be discussed in the roundtables that Obama will have with Liberian girls.
Diana Kudjoe, a 15-year-old who sings gospel music with her church choir and aspires to be a banker, says she hopes the visit will help Obama understand why some Liberian girls aren’t going to school.
“There is difficulty in girls’ education. Sometimes children go to school and they don’t have the money so they go to government school or they go and get pregnant,” she says. “I hope she will tell them that school is important.”
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/06/27/483259539/girl-talk-what-teens-want-michelle-obama-to-know-about-liberia
“…Many of them only vaguely knew who president Obama’s wife was…”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLMK_fj1p7/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLkutbhh5o/
I didn’t know whether to post this or not. But, I felt this read to my soul.
Warning, if profanity upsets you, don’t watch.
If this had been Peanut, I’d be in jail because I would have done something. I keep on telling you all.
They don’t want freedom of speech. They want freedom of consequences from speech. They wanna party like it’s 1948.
PHUCK.OUTTA.HERE
With her grown racist azz doing this TO A CHILD.
https://youtu.be/IZ3xqFN4XFY
May God bless that excellent man who stood up and spoke up for that kid…Stepped up and stepped in to protect the kid…and put a stop to the evil woman…shamed the racist bully…and dared her to pick on someone her size…
Bought up the little boy’s candy too …and shut down and prematurely ended the evil racist’s attempt at trying to stir trouble and drag a child into her messy, miserable issues and sad life…
LOL
https://youtu.be/e3DQhVl3piU
ummmmmm
HELL NO!!
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/747580921189138432
“…She has inspired these girls more than she will probably ever know…”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLCoi7j003/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLadj8DcSr/
In a world full of such excess and plenty…so sad…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLSaTpBRXE/
Lord King: Mistake to treat voters like idiots
Remain ‘treated voters like idiots’, Lord King says
27 June 2016 Last updated at 13:37 BST
Voters considering backing leaving the EU were treated like “idiots” by the Remain campaign, former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has said.
He told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg people had told him they did not like “scaremongering tactics”.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36642662
“…Volatility in UK shares following the vote to leave the EU is “no reason for any of us to panic”, the former governor of the Bank of England says.
Lord Mervyn King predicted the long-term effect of a Brexit on GDP would turn out to be “a bit of a fuss about nothing”.
In a BBC interview, he also accused the Remain campaign of treating people considering voting Leave like “idiots”.
He said voters had not been impressed by “scaremongering tactics”.
Lord King, who was Bank of England governor for 10 years until 2013, said: “I don’t think people should be particularly worried, markets move up, markets move down.
“We don’t yet know where they will find their level and the whole aspect of volatility is that there is a trial and error process going on before markets discover what the right level of stock markets and exchange rates actually are.
“What we need is a bit of calm now, there’s no reason for any of us to panic.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36641046
“…Former Bank of England Governor Lord King has said that the economic costs of Britain leaving the European Union have been “exaggerated”, as he accused those on both sides of the forthcoming EU referendum debate of treating it like a “public relations campaign”.
“One should be very cautious of precise, numerical estimates of what the consequences would be,” Lord King warned in an interview with Bloomberg, in a reference to Government analysis published this week…”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/20/economic-threat-of-brexit-is-being-exaggerated-says-former-bank/
https://twitter.com/AP/status/747541632325672961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
A poster on BJ calls Donald Trump’s sons:
Uday and Qusay!
Cracks me up everytime I read it.
JESSE WILLIAMS IS BRILLIANT
Malaika Jabali, 6/27/16
Apparently, God woke up one fine mornting and she said you know what it’s a Friday and I ain’t got shit to do. Except it was actually Wednesday, August 5, 1981. On this day I shall give y’all Earth heathens a man. He will be smart. He’s gon’ be famous. And y’all don’t say “woke” yet, but you will in, ohh, 20 or so years, so he will be woke AF. He will have an unparalleled amount of ordacity. AND because I give absolutely no damns, he’s gone be wrapped up in a fine package that coincidentally aligns with the clusterfuck beauty standards white peepo created and y’all continue to uphold, but nevertheless here this nicca is. And Jesse Williams was like, “thanks fam.”
My timelines during Jesse Williams’ speech last night as he accepted BET’s Humanitarian Award at their annual awards show was saturated with female feelings about the actor-turned activist-turned perfect human. But it was a particular kind of woman reacting to him. It was the good type of woman yo mama says you better lock down before somebody else does. And probably very few of these women were surprised by any of the bars he was spitting last night after he glared solemnly at Debra Lee and her introduction like, as one Twitter use put it, a guest pastor getting introduced at Sunday Service.
It’s appropriate to conjure up images of the church here, given that so many of our civil rights leaders used the pastoral platform to get black people primed for work in social justice. But while the message was just as forceful, impassioned, and spiritually moving as anything in the church, the delivery was like that of a seasoned rapper who might drop a Tidal exclusive next week. It was the Drake album we never got. It was the Warriors’ Larry O’Brien trophy that shattered beneath LeBron James’ wings.
https://twitter.com/UTVIreland/status/746805179224227840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
I gotta get in on this ‘ study’ grift:
@CBSNews
White and black Americans tend to live in “different economic worlds,” new study finds:
https://twitter.com/Variety/status/747568976486596608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“…Wall Street’s sinister influence on the political process has, rightly, been a major topic during this presidential campaign. But, history has taught us that the role that the media industry plays in Washington poses a comparable threat to our democracy. Yet, this is a topic rarely discussed by the dominant media, or on the campaign trail.
But now is a good time to discuss our growing media crises. Twenty years ago this week, President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The act, signed into law on February 8, 1996, was “essentially bought and paid for by corporate media lobbies,” as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) described it, and radically “opened the floodgates on mergers.”
The negative impact of the law cannot be overstated. The law, which was the first major reform of telecommunications policy since 1934, according to media scholar Robert McChesney, “is widely considered to be one of the three or four most important federal laws of this generation.” The act dramatically reduced important Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations on cross ownership, and allowed giant corporations to buy up thousands of media outlets across the country, increasing their monopoly on the flow of information in the United States and around the world.
“Never have so many been held incommunicado by so few,” said Eduardo Galeano, the Latin American journalist, in response to the act.
Twenty years later the devastating impact of the legislation is undeniable: About 90 percent of the country’s major media companies are owned by six corporations. Bill Clinton’s legacy in empowering the consolidation of corporate media is right up there with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and welfare reform, as being among the most tragic and destructive policies of his administration.
Of all the presidential candidates running in 2016, the Big Media lobby has chosen to back Hillary Clinton.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is not merely a regrettable part of history. It serves as a stern warning about what is at stake in the future. In a media world that is going through a massive transformation, media companies have dramatically increased efforts to wield influence in Washington, with a massive lobbying presence and a steady dose of campaign donations to politicians in both parties – with the goal of allowing more consolidation, and privatizing and commodifying the internet.
This issue has not been central in the 2016 presidential election. But it is deeply concerning that, of all the presidential candidates running in 2016, the Big Media lobby has chosen to back Hillary Clinton. Media industry giants have donated way more to her than any other candidate in the race, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. In light of this, we must be mindful of the media reform challenges we face in the present, as we try to prevent the type of damage to our democracy that was caused by the passing of this unfortunate law.
When President Bill Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act into law, he did so with great fanfare. The bill, which was lobbied for in great numbers by the communications and media industry, was sadly a bipartisan misadventure – only 3 percent of Congress voted against the bill: five senators and 16 members of the House, including then-Rep. Bernie Sanders.
At the time, President Clinton touted the law as “truly revolutionary legislation … that really embodies what we ought to be about as a country.” House Speaker Newt Gingrich boasted of projected consumer savings and private job growth. Rep. John Dingell (D-Michigan) “thanked God” for the bill that would “make this country the best served, the best educated and the most successful country … in all areas of communications.”
Despite all of these glowing words, the consequences of the bill were disastrous. The act “fueled a consolidation so profound that even insiders are surprised by its magnitude,” said one trade publication, according to Robert McChesney, in his book, Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious Times.
Radio has seen an equally appalling consolidation, which has been horrendous for both news media and music. In 1995, before the Telecommunications Act was passed, companies were not allowed to own more than 40 radio stations. “Since passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Clear Channel [now called iHeartMedia] has grown from 40 stations to 1,240 stations – 30 times more than congressional regulation previously allowed,” according to a report from the Future of Music Coalition.
Local newspapers, too, have been stung by these deregulations. Gannett, for instance, owns more than 1,000 newspapers and 600 print periodicals. Layoffs have been the norm for the company, including at USA Today, the paper with the largest circulation in the country, where layoffs were described as a “total bloodbath” in the American Journalism Review.
There was a lot at stake when media companies lobbied for reform in 1996. There is just as much at stake today in the battle for a free and open press. Not only have big media companies continued to push for more consolidation and mergers, but they are also seeking to commodify and privatize the internet. This has become a major concern for advocates of “net neutrality,” who want to “save the internet,” and ensure it is protected as a public utility with equal access for everybody. An FCC ruling in February 2015 has protected the internet for now, but as Free Press warns, the internet is still “in danger.”
“Net neutrality has made the internet an unrivaled space for free speech, civic participation, innovation and opportunity. Net neutrality prohibits online discrimination and gives any individual, organization or company the same chance to share their ideas and find an audience,” explains Free Press’s website, Save the Internet. “Companies like Comcast and Verizon aren’t used to losing in Washington, and they’ll do everything they can to knock down the Title II protections the FCC approved on Feb. 26, 2015.”
The organization is right to be concerned. One reason for the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as McChesney wrote in 1997, was the sheer power that the media and communications industry has in Washington. “Both the Democratic and Republican parties have strong ties to the large communication firms and industries, and the communication lobbies are among the most feared, respected and well-endowed of all that seek favors on Capitol Hill.”
Today that power and influence has only increased.
In March 2015, for instance, a Comcast executive held a $50,000 per plate fundraiser for Clinton’s super PAC. “Comcast NBCUniversal operates in 39 states and has 130,000 employees across the country,” said company spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice at the time. “It is important for our customers, our employees and our shareholders that we participate in the political process.”
Of course, media companies don’t just donate to Clinton, but also to members of Congress from both parties. Further, as the Center for Responsive Politics reports, the FCC is filled with “revolving-door” employees, who have been switching back and forth between government work and lobbying for Comcast.
Their aggressiveness in Washington makes them a dangerous enemy in the fight for free and democratic media. In this environment, it should come as no surprise that the position of FCC chairman is typically held by a former lobbyist for the cable industry, such as Tom Wheeler, the current chairman, who was once president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, a major opponent of net neutrality…”
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34789-democracy-in-peril-twenty-years-of-media-consolidation-under-the-telecommunications-act
https://twitter.com/Wimbledon/status/747234762893385729?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/samsteinhp/status/747485432045273088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/AP/status/747490887970717696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
“…Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s on Friday downgraded the credit rating of the United States, stripping the world’s largest economy of its prized AAA status.
In July, S&P placed the United States’ rating on “CreditWatch with negative implications” as the debt ceiling debate devolved into partisan bickering…”
In its report Friday, S&P ruled that the U.S. fell short: “The downgrade reflects our opinion that the … plan that Congress and the Administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government’s medium-term debt dynamics.”
S&P also cited dysfunctional policymaking in Washington as a factor in the downgrade. “The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed.”
A Treasury Department spokesman pushed back on the rating change, saying that S&P’s analysis was flawed…”
http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/05/news/economy/downgrade_rumors/
“..The burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander…”
“..If you have a critique for the resistance, for our resistance, then you better have an established record of critique of our oppression…”
“..Burying black people out of sight and out of mind, while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil — black gold…”
“..Ghettoizing and demeaning our creations… then stealing them…”
“..Gentrifying our genius …and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit…”
It is common knowledge that this young man is the only ‘celebrity’ activist I have any use for…
No mealy-mouthing…no disclaimers…just pure, unadulterated truth without fear of losing favor ..or not being accepted and validated …or upsetting the powers that be in Hollywood…
He’s always impressed me most because his is true activism…it isn’t self-promotion or self-aggrandizement….and it isn’t like so many others in Hollywood, a slick attempt at exploitation of causes and only to elevate oneself …and push products …or be seen as ‘high-minded’ and having ‘substance’ and being ‘so much more than ‘an actor’ and having more ‘substance’ than the other shallow narcissists that litter Hollywood’…it isn’t of the garden variety of wearing reading glasses (often prescription-less) to be seen as ‘intelligent’…desperate to shake off that ubiquitous chip on many an actors shoulders …always desperate to prove that they’re so much more than shallow folks who play dress-up and make-believe and live for attention and fame and money…
This is a young man whose activism is truth…and righteous and authentic… it is about actually speaking up and fighting for the voiceless and the oppressed…It isn’t about self-promotion or to be touted…
For Jesse Williams, It isn’t about leveraging faux-activism so as to be taken seriously beyond their ‘craft’…
It isn’t about leveraging faux-activism to be seen as important either…to schmooze with and be courted by politicians and D.C folks …or given speaking spots at party conventions, …priding oneself in hosting, attending and mingling at high-dollar exclusive fundraisers for the same cowardly, self-serving politicians who do all the damage and have never had the courage to do the jobs they were elected to because they won’t and can’t for fear of messing up their future political ambitions…but always looking to be moved up to the next political spot on their political climb…
Here’s hoping that Jesse Williams never sells out…here’s hoping he keeps his heart rightly on the cause…on those who have nobody to speak for them…those who can’t afford the high-dollar fundraisers…
Right now, this young man continues to have my utmost respect and support…
And to see the look of awe, envy and discomfort on the faces of some of the cowardly, mealy-mouthed others in the audience who are quick to jump on the bandwagons of those who have being as guilty of the oppression Jesse speaks of….politicians who have done as much damage and done precious little for the cause of fairness, equality and justice over the many years they’ve had positions and great opportunities to do so….but are now being touted for coronation as potential saviors…
https://youtu.be/-Ikd7A2VuHs
https://twitter.com/NYDailyNews/status/747575387815809024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Jesse Williams Had More to Say After BET Speech – JetMag.com
Two-Thirds Say Obama Tried to Make Race Relations Better
ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON
Jun 27, 2016, 1:41 PM ET
Almost eight years after electing a black president, vast majorities of blacks and Hispanics think President Barack Obama at least tried to make race relations in the United States better, according to a poll released Monday.
But only about half of whites think Obama made race relations better or at least tried to make race relations better but failed. Almost a third of whites said the president “made race relations worse.”
The Pew Research Center report also suggested there is still a stark difference in attitudes about race relations among racial and ethnic groups.
For example, whites were split on the status of race relations, with 46 percent saying they are generally good overall and 45 percent saying they are generally bad. But blacks were less optimistic, with 61 percent saying that race relations are bad and 34 percent saying that they are good.
Many people had hope that Obama’s historic election would bring about better race relations, said Juliana Horowitz, a Pew associate director who helped craft the poll.
Sixty-two percent of Americans said the president himself made race relations better or at least tried to make race relations better, but a full 25 percent said he made things worse. The poll did not ask for specifics in how Obama made race relations better or worse.
I hate these fucking poll. If race relations are worse=THAT BLACK MAN & HIS BLACK FAMILY are in the WHITE HOUSE.
POTUS is not responsible for ‘race relations,’ etc. RACISTS ARE.OWN YOUR SHIT
Ask the same folks who aid race relations are worse, WHAT ARE OR HAVE THEY DONE TO MAKE RACE RELATION BETTER, and they’d go BLANK STARE & they’d be white
“But only about half of whites think Obama made race relations better or at least tried to make race relations better but failed. Almost a third of whites said the president “made race relations worse.”” – PROBABLY because he made them uncomfortable by actually BEING the change and embodying power. Power in a black man can scare the bejesus out of the racist-and-afraid. When we consider that the opposite of love is fear, it puts things into perspective. Those who do not love and divide with the excuse of race are truly afraid, whether or not this is justifiable. When what you fear becomes powerful, then of course you think things just got worse!
https://twitter.com/NBCBLK/status/747270559512272897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Elections have consequences.
And, so does not voting.
Young Britons are fuming about Brexit outcome, but many didn’t vote.
In a democracy, it’s those who turn out in larger numbers, not necessarily those with the highest stakes, who carry the day.
June 27, 2016
A large proportion of British youths are concentrated in cities, where they study or have entry-level jobs, so they represented one major factor in cities being centers of the “remain” camp. But seniors vastly outnumbered them at the ballot box.
https://twitter.com/_maleficentt/status/747566318233206784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/747419879351918594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/3861/8657/original.jpg
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLCO6Tjk-4/
Want folks to feel sorry for them for their cooning
Uh uh uh
…………………………………….
The lonely lives of Latinos for Trump
‘I don’t want to put my face out to the public. There are a lot of crazy people out there.’
06/26/16 07:20 AM EDT
MIAMI — Lifelong friends unfriend them on Facebook. Siblings and parents refuse to talk politics. Their kids are home from college stoked about the socialist Bernie Sanders.
Sure, their candidate may love them and be three weeks away from becoming the GOP presidential nominee. But it still isn’t easy being a Latino for Donald Trump.
From the get-go, with his big campaign announcement splash about Mexican immigrants being rapists and criminals, to his more recent broadside against a federal judge of Mexican heritage, the billionaire Republican’s incendiary rhetoric has made life more than a little complicated for many of his supporters who carry ties to places like Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and across Latin America.
But they insist that his business acumen will turn around the economy and that his unsparing views on illegal immigration will prevent people from jumping ahead of them in line for jobs or social services. Some are Cuban-American conservatives who think he’ll be a tougher defender of the nation’s freedoms than Hillary Clinton.
SG2,
From Very Smart Brothas:
https://66.media.tumblr.com/5a34ce2c9be53f595695c93b59de1df1/tumblr_o9ey0a41Y31qhry52o1_500.png
https://65.media.tumblr.com/fa5bc6cfc56c5e5baa73b4352d013bfd/tumblr_o9ey0a41Y31qhry52o2_r1_500.png
https://66.media.tumblr.com/9dad19c7931ac1d40952e95bae378f62/tumblr_o9ey0a41Y31qhry52o7_500.gif
https://65.media.tumblr.com/48c70ffb1a553fd65307f07e28c3aa21/tumblr_o9ey0a41Y31qhry52o3_500.png
https://67.media.tumblr.com/6daed6f3cfcbe006e645be80af354163/tumblr_o9ey0a41Y31qhry52o4_500.png
https://67.media.tumblr.com/9f4314121dfc6901e4c51505c09392d6/tumblr_o9ey0a41Y31qhry52o6_r1_500.png
https://67.media.tumblr.com/8690b4072437acd910675de849d195bd/tumblr_o9ey0a41Y31qhry52o5_500.png
https://twitter.com/VPLive/status/747486776080531460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/JoyAnnReid/status/747430654187544576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/WesleyLowery/status/747523704196894720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Andrew Beatty @AndrewBeatty 7h7 hours ago Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Facing a constitutional crisis + economic turmoil, the UK essentially has no PM, no government + no opposition. Brexit is going ok so far.
https://twitter.com/wvlt/status/747525227731689472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/BuzzFeed/status/747497412147613697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/splcenter/status/747532526281961473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The President didn’t lose.
The scared Democrats that ran away from him did.
…………………………………………….
https://twitter.com/Schultz44/status/747416257163497472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Armour: Little drama in picking women’s gymnastics team for Rio Olympics
Nancy Armour, USA TODAY Sports 10:26 a.m. EDT
June 27, 2016
ST. LOUIS — The Olympic trials are going to be more formality than fight.
Unlike many Olympic years, when there’s drama right to the bitter end and Martha Karolyi’s every nod and quizzical look is carefully scrutinized for clues, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team for the Rio Games appears to already be set.
This when the trials don’t even begin for another 10 days.
“If this will be (the competition at the trials), our job will be fairly easy to say this is the team,” said Karolyi, the national team coordinator. “Probably it will be harder to decide about the alternates.”
Given that Karolyi would wait to name her team until the day it gets on the plane if she could, this is about as shocking as it comes.
Except it really isn’t.
Deep as the group of contenders is — the Americans could easily send two squads to the Olympics and both would return with a medal — the five women who will likely be the Rio team clearly separated themselves from the pack at this weekend’s U.S. gymnastics championships.
Simone Biles was a no-brainer even before nationals. She hasn’t lost an all-around competition in more than three years, a stretch of domination never before seen in women’s gymnastics. She’s won the last three world titles, usually by wide margins, and on Sunday night crushed the rest of the field by almost four points to pick up her fourth U.S. crown.
That she even has to go to trials seems excessive, a point Karolyi acknowledged.
Gary @GaryTomWilliams 9h9 hours ago
My 73 yr old Mum (who voted Remain) tells me people in her lunch club thought LEAVE meant, quite literally, voting to make immigrants leave.
https://twitter.com/serenawilliams/status/747532503469088770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here’s a link for you SG2
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2016/06/27/actor_and_activist_jesse_williams_gave_a_fiery_speech_at_the_bet_awards.html
U.S. First lady Michelle Obama, left, listens to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, right, after she arrived at the airport in Monrovia, Liberia, Monday, June. 27, 2016. Obama is visiting a leadership camp for girls in Liberia to launch her latest Africa visit on Monday in a country still recovering from the recent Ebola epidemic that left thousands dead. Abbas Dulleh AP Photo
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/article86157022.html#storylink=cpy
We need to take a look at the Democratic platform, before they go to the convention. Can anyone get information and bring it to 3 Chics?
I am looking now…so far can just find articles that tell bits and pieces of the platform:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/06/25/betraying-progressives-dnc-platform-backs-fracking-tpp-and-israel-occupation
https://demconvention.com/news/democratic-platform-drafting-meeting-concludes/
From the http://www.commondreams.org article linked above:
“During a 9-hour meeting in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, members of the DNC’s platform drafting committee voted down a number of measures proposed by Bernie Sanders surrogates that would have come out against the contentious Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), fracking, and the Israeli occupation of Palestine. At the same time, proposals to support a carbon tax, Single Payer healthcare, and a $15 minimum wage tied to inflation were also disregarded.
In a statement, Sanders said he was “disappointed and dismayed” that representatives of Hillary Clinton and DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schulz rejected the proposal on trade put forth by Sanders appointee Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), despite the fact that the presumed nominee has herself come out against the 12-nation deal.
….
The panel also rejected amendments suggested by 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben, another Sanders pick, that would have imposed a carbon tax, declared a national moratorium on fracking as well as new fossil fuel drilling leases on federal lands and waters.
“This is not a political problem of the sort that we are used to dealing with,” McKibben stated during the marathon debate. “Most political problems yield well to the formula that we’ve kept adopting on thing after thing—compromise, we’ll go halfway, we’ll get part of this done. That’s because most political problems are really between different groups of people. They’re between industry and environmentalists. That is not the case here.”
…
Other progressive policies were adopted piecemeal, such as the $15 minimum wage, which the committee accepted but without the amendment put forth by Ellison that would have indexed the wage to inflation.
The panel did vote unanimously to back a proposal to abolish the death penalty and adopted language calling for breaking up too-big-to-fail banks and enacting a modern-day Glass-Steagall Act—measures that Sanders said he was “pleased” about.”
I’ve been looking for information about this today too. Apparently, it’s a work in progress and has improved somewhat from when they began. Here is a recent statement from Bernie:
PRESS RELEASE
Sanders Statement on Democratic Party Platform
JUNE 26, 2016
BURLINGTON, Vt. – U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders issued the following statement on Sunday on a Democratic Party platform draft:
…
“I am glad that we have won some very important provisions in the platform drafting process so far, but much more needs to be done.
“There is very good language in the platform that calls for breaking up the largest Wall Street financial institutions and a 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act. I am glad that the platform drafting committee is on record to expand Social Security, to create millions of jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and to end the outrageous tax loopholes that enable the very rich and large profitable corporations to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
“Unfortunately, however, the platform drafting committee voted down some very important provisions. Despite Secretary Clinton’s opposition, as a candidate for president, to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, her supporters in St. Louis voted down a proposal to keep the trade deal from coming up for a vote in Congress. The Clinton delegates also voted down definitive language to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Despite the growing crisis of climate change, they voted against a tax on carbon, against a ban on fracking and against against a requirement for 100 percent clean energy by 2050.”
“The platform drafted in St. Louis is a very good start, but there is no question that much more work remains to be done by the full Platform Committee when it meets in Orlando on July 8 and 9. We intend to do everything we can to rally support for our amendments in Orlando and if we fail there to take the fight to the floor of the convention in Philadelphia. It is imperative that this platform be not only the most progressive in the history of the Democratic Party, but includes a set of policies that will be fought for and implemented by Democratic elected officials.”
https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-statement-democratic-party-platform/
Thank you, Liza.
https://twitter.com/lemondrop110/status/747542049843478535
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHJX_aLhShQ/
How Britain Can Break from Brexit
A roadmap for how Britain can walk itself back from its disastrous referendum.
by Richard Ned Lebow and Simon Reich
June 27, 2016
Like so many important events, “Brexit” – the decision by British voters to withdraw from the European Union (EU) – is the outcome of both social forces and human agency. It offers important political lessons for how to maintain Western democracy and cooperation.
The successful campaign to withdraw Britain from the EU was the work of disgruntled Tories who have not gotten over the loss of empire, the decline in unquestioned authority and privilege of the upper class, and who share the delusion that independence from Europe could somehow restore this bygone era. For decades, these backward looking Tories were consigned to the backbenches of the Conservative parliamentary party. Their moment came in 2013 when Prime Minister David Cameron pledged that the people must “have their say” on Europe and promised to hold a referendum if re-elected. In February 2016, Cameron honored his pledge, announcing a referendum in June. Those voting to withdraw from the EU won a narrow victory – 52 to 48 percent.
The English, the elderly, the rural, and the uneducated voted disproportionately in favor of leaving. But among young voters, 75% wanted to remain in the EU, a percentage almost matched by Londoners, voters in several other major cities, and those in highly educated communities like Oxford and Cambridge. The young are justifiably angry that the opportunities the EU offered them have been taken away by the same generation that has increased their tuition fees and made house ownership an impossible dream. Like many educated and cosmopolitan British people, they have multiple identities, and European is one of them.
Leaders are rarely, if ever, the prisoners of public opinion, and all the more so on the question of the EU in Britain, where nearly half the population supports remaining. So how and why did David Cameron create a crisis that would have been so easy to avoid? The answer lies in his exaggerated fear of UKIP (the United Kingdom Independence Party) and its leader, Nigel Farage. Committed to leaving the EU and reclaiming British “independence,” by 2014, the UKIP benefitted from the defection of two Tory MPs – one of them appropriately named Reckless – and were doing well in the polls. Tory backbenchers were increasingly outspoken on the EU, and David Cameron agreed to hold a referendum, hoping the promise would keep his party united and present further defections to UKIP. This was a huge miscalculation by the prime minister. Support for UKIP had already gone flat and the Conservative Party easily weathered the defection of a couple of disgruntled members. Moreover, the 40 or so MPs pushing for withdrawal constituted a small faction of the 330 Conservative MPs. Collectively, they might have brought the government down, but did not do so because of the greater expected cost to themselves.
Folks keep taking down Jesse Williams race speech video but you’re not going to stop me. I’ll keep finding another and will put it right back up.
Isn’t that something, SG2? They have all sorts of garbage on YouTube, but are suddenly proprietary about a Black man telling truths.
Uh huh
Uh huh 😠😬
They CANNOT stop us!
Makes me HOLLER.
Yet there is 24/7 nonstop coverage of RACISTs spewing their venom. But don’t ya’ll are call these fuckers out for their RACISM!!!!
Ametia,
WHAT BLACK FOLK have a problem with what Jesse Williams said last night?
Who Be These Heathens?
I was reading a Twitter feed where some black folks were yammering about, Jesse’s not black enough.. light-skinned negro, BLAH BLAH BLAH.
Ain’t that some shit. The very folks who he told to have a seat, because they aren’t doing SHIT to stand up for their own civil-human rights to fucking LIVE.
GTF-ALL.THE.WAY.OUTTA.HERE.
phuck,outta.here
with that nonsense
Donald Trump calls Elizabeth Warren a ‘racist’
06/27/16 04:16 PM
By Steve Benen
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) hasn’t just been active in calling out Donald Trump; she’s also positioned herself as one of the nation’s most prominent Democrats that Republicans just love to hate.
This NBC News report, for example, is a reminder that the presumptive GOP nominee is doing more than just trading rhetorical jabs with a Senate critic. One gets the impression that Trump vehemently dislikes Warren on a rather personal level.
Let’s pause to note two things. First, if Donald J. Trump, of all people, wants to have a debate about who is and isn’t “a racist,” he’s making a terrible mistake. Second, the background on Trump’s latest whining has to do with Warren family lore about a Cherokee ancestor.
Republicans don’t believe Warren’s family history, and have used this in recent years to make ugly, racially charged attacks.
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/747520385902477312
HOLLA, and White people do exist in America.
If black folks are pissed about that chat Jesse had with AMERICA last night, they are part of the PROBLEM.
THE END.
x2
AMEN!
I know Liza drops links often about this young man., Brian Stevenson. Another WARRIOR for JUSTICE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6k7AwAgLOQ
Thank you for these videos, Ametia. Bryan Stevenson is, of course, a brilliant attorney and activist and a phenomenal teacher. How does he remain so calm when he speaks of these things? I don’t know, but it is very effective.
Great article:
“Diane Turner’s lifelong passion for preserving African-American history”
http://www.phillytrib.com/lifestyle/diane-turner-s-lifelong-passion-for-preserving-african-american-history/article_0da0561f-9432-519a-8e93-853c5ab1d2ba.html
Sheila E, ya’ll
Sheila E. Is Moved to Tears After Delivering Powerful Prince Tribute at BET Awards 2016
http://www.eonline.com/news/775905/sheila-e-is-moved-to-tears-after-delivering-powerful-prince-tribute-at-bet-awards-2016
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/supreme-court-strikes-down-texas-abortion-restrictions
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/supreme-court-strikes-down-texas-abortion-restrictions
Let’s NOT skirt over the fact that Jesse was calling on the other “BLAH” folks in that audience to TAKE A STAND, ALSO TOO!
Jesse Williams gave one of the most memorable speeches in award show history [full transcript]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/06/27/jesse-williams-gave-one-of-the-most-memorable-speeches-in-award-show-history-full-transcript/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_1_na
He gave one of the most memorable and courageous speeches of the 21st century.
Yes mam! Jesse had the *I’MLOOKING@ALL&EVERYONE* look and had no FUCKS to GIVE about who did or didn’t want to hear TRUTH.
DAPS!
Ametia, there are the words, to be sure, but there is also the body language especially the eye contact with the audience. This is one powerful speech. I think most folks will listen to this the first time with their jaws dropped.
I feel uplifted. We needed this.
Let’s not forget how the media literally BLACKED out PBO & FLOTUS’ travels and campaign speeches the last 7 years. The only thing they really thought to report on is HOW AMERICANS’ TAX DOLLARS were footing the bill or some such nonsense.
But since June 2015, it’s been non-stop coverage of Trump, the RACIST BULLY. Now the GOP & media, et.al., are shocked? GTFOH
Sure the media did Ametia…
But even worse, the White House systematically blocked and diminished the first black First Lady…
That one is directly on the White House…they did that..
Racism perpetrated on the first black First Lady of the United States right inside her own husband’s White House – and by those working for and schmoozing and yucking it up with her husband…is one of the most brazen and most mind-blowing not so stealth acts of racism we’ve all ever ignored and pretended either isn’t happening…or not to notice…
Look at this ISH, y’all! Wow!
https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/747439407540609024
Yes; Stevie Wonder saw this coming.. They giveth and taketh away
Like I’ve shared with my fam again and again…
“..The truth is, they are all no different really…and in the end, it doesn’t really matter who sits in that Oval office or any seat of power for that matter…the real powers that be ultimately have their say…and their ways of manipulating and controlling outcomes and things…they’d just rather make things just that much easier and seamless for themselves by installing their preferred trained, well-rehearsed and beholden puppet to begin with…Trump would be ideal too if he weren’t just as megalomaniac as the owners…and way too unreliable when it comes to carrying out orders…”
‘Honorable’ and ‘credible’ folks are few and far between these days…Most have sold out and taken very dubious stands based on obvious arm-twisting and horse trading…and staked their integrity and moral high ground …and all so they can keep their cushy lives cushy…and keep their perceived sense of power and importance…
Supreme Court unanimously rules for former Va. governor McDonnell
The decision was written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. “If the court below determines that there is sufficient evidence for a jury to convict Governor McDonnell of committing or agreeing to commit an ‘official act,’ his case may be set for a new trial,” Roberts wrote. “If the court instead determines that the evidence is insufficient, the charges against him must be dismissed. We express no view on that question.” Roberts added: “There is no doubt that this case is distasteful; it may be worse than that. But our concern is not with tawdry tales of Ferraris, Rolexes, and ball gowns. It is instead with the broader legal implications of the government’s boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.”
Read more » https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/06/27/supreme-court-unanimously-rules-for-former-va-governor-mcdonnell/?utm_term=.53ba898b3a87&wpisrc=al_alert-COMBO-local%252Bnational
Unca Clarence voted in this ruling FOR Old McDonald, BANK, IT.
https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/747429590604218368
Please remember that Hillary Clinton is in that club. Exploiting the mothers whose sons were gunned down and murdered, for her own personal gain.
If anything, Black folks need to demand better of the Democratic Party, hold SIT-INS, protest, and demand they reform that broken, lame, same old retreads in the Democratic leadership. You can’t expect anything new from folks who fight to maintain the status quo.
I will be voting in November, but it will not be for EITHER PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE.
The Supreme Court threw out a Texas abortion law in a victory for supporters of abortion rights who argued it would have shuttered all but a handful of clinics in the state.
The 5-3 ruling is the most significant decision from the Supreme Court on abortion in two decades and could serve to deter other states from passing “clinic shutdown” laws.
I think I’m going to watch Jesse Williams’ speech many times today. It is absolutely astonishing what that young man did with less than five minutes on stage. God bless him.
I’ll be joining you, I can’t get enough of it. It was absolute FIRE!
This is my reaction, precisely:
https://twitter.com/earlxsweat/status/747325512054300672
ALL-O-THIS
http://www.mobypicture.com/user/juneAmbrose/view/19216912
I feel the same way, Liza.
It is so powerful that I have transcribed the main body of Jesse William’s speech:
Thanks for this, Yahtzee. I’m definitely going to save it.
Burying the Beast: Why the 2016 Election Needs to be a Democratic Landslide
Trevor LaFauci June 26, 2016
There are two sides to every coin.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve been traversing Palm Beach County, Florida for a crash course in political organizing 101. I’ve been to multiple call banks, house parties, and voter registration events. I’ve met local officials and precinct leaders. I’ve sat in on a conference call led by Robby Mook. I’ve seen and heard strategy sessions regarding messaging, talking points, goals, and strategies for the general election campaign. I’ve made hundreds of phone calls in an effort to recruit both new and seasoned volunteers. I’ve seen staunch Democratic supporters open their homes to complete strangers to offer supporter housing. I’ve spoken with new organizers who quit their cushy jobs to join the campaign. I’ve seen veteran organizers who have been consistently working 70-hour weeks since last summer. I’ve seen a network of driven and dedicated Democrats who will do whatever it takes to elect Hillary Clinton as our 45th president.
But I’ve also seen the other side.
LOL…
Memphis man raises close to $250,000 for teen who offered to carry groceries in exchange for some food for him and his disabled mom. “He is a straight-A student who is doing his best to make it in a world with no money and very few resources.”
which is why she should stay IN THE SENATE:
If You Fail to Plan, Then You Plan to Fail
by D.R. Tucker June 25, 2016 3:30 PM
Like my colleague David Atkins, I think a Hillary Clinton-Elizabeth Warren ticket would be a strong one for the national Democratic Party; on MSNBC this morning, Joy Reid also noted Warren’s merits as a running mate for Clinton. However, as a Massachusetts native, I cannot dismiss concerns that Warren’s departure from the Senate upon becoming Vice President would quickly become a disaster for the state Democratic Party.
Under current Massachusetts law, a special election to fill a vacant US House or Senate seat must be held at least 145 days (but not more than 160 days) after the seat becomes vacant. Between the time the vacancy commences and the day of the special election, the governor–in this case, Republican Charlie Baker–must appoint an interim US Senator.
In the two most recent Bay State US Senate vacancies (the passing of Ted Kennedy in 2009 and the resignation of John Kerry to become Secretary of State in 2013), the appointed interim Senators–former Democratic National Committee head Paul Kirk and prominent attorney Mo Cowan, respectively–agreed not to run for the office while serving as interim Senator. It is quite likely that Baker will also have his interim appointment agree not to run for the office–because Baker, highly popular in Massachusetts, will not be able to resist the urge to run for the seat himself.
This should scare progressives in Massachusetts; as I have previously noted, the state Democratic Party seems uninterested in confronting Baker on the more offensive aspects of his record, presumably due to his tremendous popularity. It is difficult to imagine the state party suddenly moving from legarthic to lithe when it comes to making the case against a Senate candidate Baker–and it is also difficult to imagine the national Democratic Party and/or progressive Super PACs doing enough damage to Baker to substantially diminish his popularity going into a special election.
yes; Elizabeth Warren needs to stay her ass in the Senate.
Where was Elizabeth the last 7 years? Just now seeing racism? GTFOH
Remember, she’s got native American blood in her..
LOL…Ametia..
There was also a humble sweetness and sincerity in Sam Jackson ‘s speech.
He also reminded us:
Get out and vote. And take 8 people with you. You don’t want to get tricked like those folks in London
Jesse Williams:
… “There has been no war that we have not fought and died on the front lines of. There is no job we haven’t done, there is no tax they haven’t levied against us, and we have paid all of them.
“But freedom is always conditional here. ‘You’re free!’ they keeping telling us. ‘But she would be alive if she hadn’t acted so… free.’ Now, freedom is always coming in the hereafter, but the hereafter is a hustle: We want it now.
“Let’s get a couple of things straight. The burden of the brutalized is not to comfort the bystander — that’s not our job so let’s stop with all that. If you have a critique for our resistance then you’d better have an established record, a critique of our oppression.
“If you have no interest in equal rights for black people then do not make suggestions to those who do: sit down.
“We’ve been floating this country on credit for centuries, and we’re done watching and waiting while this invention called whiteness uses and abuses us, burying black people out of sight and out of mind while extracting our culture, our dollars, our entertainment like oil — black gold! — ghettoizing and demeaning our creations and stealing them, gentrifying our genius and then trying us on like costumes before discarding our bodies like rinds of strange fruit.
“Just because we’re magic doesn’t mean we’re not real. Thank you.”
EVERY BIT-O-THIS, ALSO TOO!
Now, this is also in particular for the [B]lack women in particular who have spent their lifetimes dedicated to nurturing everyone before themselves. We can and will do better for you.
I also thought that Sam Jackson was sweet and authentic
Jesse’s speech was EVERYTHING! !!
Good Morning 😊, Everyone 😆
https://twitter.com/yiggityyoung/status/747254811662426112
Astounding photo of parents who did the WORK!
YASSS! When you know with confidence that you did your job!
I love this picture. You can feel them and share in their moment.
#JesseWilliams: “If you have no interest in the equal rights of black people, do not make suggestions for those who do”. “Sit down.”
Mood after listening to #JesseWilliams BET acceptance speech.
I want that on a t-shirt.
I want that on an engraved plaque to have on my wall and be a daily reminder.
BWA HA HA HA
Good morning, everyone! Jesse Williams brought it in his acceptance speech at the BET Awards. Gave me life!
JesseWilliams: I don’t wanna hear anymore about how far we’ve come when paid public servants can pull a driveby on a 12yr old playing alone in a park in broad daylight.
Yeppers! Bey & Kendrick started the fire last night and Jessse Williams threw KEROSENE on that BEY-OTCH!
LOVES IT!