Dozens of players kneel, coaches link arms in solidarity as Trump asks NFL teams to ‘fire or suspend’ protesting players

So, now #hesnotmypresident has gotten involved in sports. He's decided that everyone who 'takes a knee' (bends down on one knee during the National Anthem  as a form of protest against this country's treatment of minorities) should be suspended or downright FIRED! This man has no sense of diplomacy, no tact, no common sense; even I, with no political experience  whatsoever can see that this is not the way the President of the most influential country on the planet should be behaving. He's swearing at people on a public social media platform; the fact that he takes to  Twitter at all to make his pronunciations   should be enough to make even the Neanderthals who voted for him queasy.     

    SOMERSET, N.J. — As President Trump called for NFL owners to suspend or fire players who protested the national anthem, players and coaches answered defiantly Sunday morning, with most members of the Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars either standing with their arms locked in solidarity or taking a knee on the field.        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
I have to interject here. IMO, the author of this Washington Post news article is misrepresenting what the players being discussed are doing. They are not protesting the National Anthem. To say that they are protesting a song is trivializing the whole movement and making them look like children having a temper tantrum. To my (and other's)  way of thinking, the players are not protesting the anthem, they are protesting during the anthem. (While on the subject of children having temper tantrums, what about what happened with  Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and his team? Since, during an interview, Stephen Curry didn't act enthusiastic about going to the White House, the president decided to punish the team by stating  "Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!"  in a tweet! How's that for childish temper tantrums?)

Ravens Coach John Harbaugh joined his players, locking arms, and Jaguars owner Shahid Khan, a Pakistani American billionaire and businessman, joined his players before the game's kickoff at 9:30 a.m. in London's Wembley Stadium. Ravens Hall of Famer Ray Lewis also took a knee during the anthem.

The dramatic show of defiance comes hours after Trump on Sunday morning renewed his demand that NFL owners fire or suspend players who kneel during the national anthem in protest, again urging that fans should boycott the sport to force change.

“If NFL fans refuse to go to games until players stop disrespecting our Flag & Country, you will see change take place fast,” Trump wrote. “Fire or suspend!”

“NFL attendance and ratings are WAY DOWN,” he continued in a second tweet. “Boring games yes, but many stay away because they love our country. League should back U.S.”

The tweets continue a three-day crusade by the president to pressure the league to fire players who have taken a knee to protest police violence against minorities. Trump has poured fuel on the flame of a simmering culture war and has further pushed sports deep into the political arena.

Among players, coaches and team owners, the public reaction has been sharply negative of his comments.

Even a close friend, Patriots CEO and Chairman Robert Kraft, who donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, issued a sharply worded statement Sunday morning that condemned his comments and supported the right of players to peacefully protest “in a manner that they feel is most impactful.”

“I am deeply disappointed by the tone of the comments made by the President on Friday,” Kraft said. “I am proud to be associated with so many players who make such tremendous contributions in positively impacting our communities.

“Their efforts, both on and off the field, help bring people together and make our community stronger,” he added. “There is no greater unifier in this country than sports and, unfortunately, nothing more divisive than politics.

“I think our political leaders could learn a lot from the lessons of teamwork and the importance of working together toward a common goal,” Kraft continued. “Our players are intelligent, thoughtful and care deeply about our community and I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful.”

           (to read more...)

Article by  Abby Phillip and Cindy Boren

Washington Post - September 24, 2017

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the blog's author, and in no way express the views of The Washington Post, Blogger, Google or any other entity (i.e. news services) whose content and/or services may have been accessed for use in this blog. 

Impeachment Anyone?

Each time his name is in the headlines, especially if the word 'tweets' is in the headline as well, #notmypresident Trump gets farther and farther from the known world of reality, and edges closer and closer to taking up permanent residence in the unknown world  where people  no more qualified to run the country than Garfield the cat are being elected and allowed to turn their nose up at all the conventions and honored traditions this country has been governed by for literally hundreds of years. Suddenly America isn't the shining example of democracy it's always been, the guiding light for all other countries, the gold standard by which others judged themselves; now it's just a  joke.  Now everyone all over the world gets up in the morning and can't wait to see what Twitter's got for them today, what inane drivel  the so-called Commander-in-Chief of the United States is spewing all over social media.  Even if he hasn't posted anything himself, the gifs and  memes that are being spread around the Internet are more than enough to send the leaders of foreign powers into paroxysms of laughter. It's sad to be such a  laughingstock when we were once the leader of the free world....

Trump retweets Fox News story containing classified info

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Donald Trump’s retweet of a Fox News story claiming US satellites detected North Korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to a patrol boat is raising eyebrows on Tuesday after US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley indicated that the information in the report is classified and was leaked.

“I can’t talk about anything that’s classified and if that’s in the newspaper that’s a shame,” Haley said Tuesday on “Fox and Friends” when asked about the story that cites two anonymous sources.

Pushed on whether the information was leaked, Haley said “it’s one of those things I don’t know what’s going on. I will tell you it’s incredibly dangerous when things get out into the press like that.”

But just a few hours before Haley’s appearance on Fox, Trump retweeted a post from the Fox News morning show promoting the story said to contain classified information.

CNN has not independently verified the Fox News report and the White House has not responded to a request for comment.

“It is alarming the casualness with which President Trump shares classifieds information,” Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California told CNN’s Poppy Harlow Tuesday. “Just because something is in the press doesn’t make that information no longer classified, so the President should not be tweeting classified information just because he as the President.”

Will Fischer, an Iraq War veteran and director of government relations for VoteVets, was also critical of the retweet and questioned what role — or lack thereof — new chief of staff John Kelly had in the process.

“It is absolutely terrifying to see that information that Ambassador Haley said was ‘dangerous’ to print was retweeted by Donald Trump,” Fischer said in a statement. “The question for everyone to ask is: What did General Kelly say? If he told Donald Trump to retweet this, there’s a real problem. If he told Trump not to, and Trump ignored him, that’s a big problem. If Donald Trump is refusing to consult with his chief of staff on any of this, that’s a huge problem, especially given General Kelly’s military background.”

Trump’s motive for retweeting the Fox News story remains unclear but the decision to promote a report that — according to the US ambassador to the United Nations — contains classified information leaked to the press by anonymous sources comes just days after the President praised Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ plan to combat that very practice in the name of national security. 

“After many years of LEAKS going on in Washington, it is great to see the A.G. taking action!” Trump tweeted. “For National Security, the tougher the better!” Trump tweeted over the weekend.

Tuesday’s retweet also coincided with the release of a series of new polls that not only call Trump’s Twitter habits into question but also reveal major concerns around the President’s trustworthiness and ability to effectively manage the standoff with North Korea.

According to a new CBS News poll only a third of those surveyed having confidence in Trump’s ability to handle the situation with North Korea.

A new CNN poll shows that a majority (52%) of Americans say Trump’s tweets are not an effective way for him to share his views on important issues, and 72% say they do not send the right message to other world leaders.

Further, 62% overall say that Trump’s statements and actions since taking office have made them less confident in his ability to be president.

In May, Trump was criticized after The Washington Post reported that he shared highly classified information with the Russian foreign minister and Russian ambassador to the US in a White House meeting.

Despite statements from top administration officials that called the report “false,” two former officials knowledgeable of the situation confirmed to CNN at the time that the main points of the Post story were accurate.

Click here to read full story »

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the blog's owner, and in no way express the views of Blogger or Google.