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Showing posts from October, 2018

My thoughts about the attempted terrorist attack by Cesar Sayoc

Several hours ago, Cesar Altieri Sayoc, Jr., was arrested and indicted on federal criminal charges related to an attempted domestic terrorist attack targeting some of the most prominent individuals within the Democratic Party (including, but not limited to, two former Presidents, a former Vice President, and members of both houses of Congress) and national security experts: An outspoken supporter of President Trump from South Florida was charged on Friday with sending explosive packages to at least a dozen of the president’s critics, apparently bringing to a close an attempted bombing spree that has gripped the country just ahead of the midterm elections. The suspect, Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., 56, was arrested outside an auto parts store near Fort Lauderdale after a fast-moving investigation in which the authorities said they were able to pull a fingerprint from one of the bomb packages and collect Mr. Sayoc’s DNA from two others. I will make a couple of very important point

I'm a nationalist, but Donald Trump is the wrong kind of nationalist

As someone who considers myself to be a nationalist, I was extremely disturbed by President Donald Trump proudly declaring himself to be a nationalist at a rally in the home county of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Trump's brand of nationalism is fascist and hypocritical. Trump's policies, particularly on issues like immigration and foreign policy, as well as his bigotry and political appeal to bigotry, are deeply rooted in Trump's brand of far-right phony nationalism. Trump's extreme anti-immigrant policies are deeply rooted in a white nationalist vision of America, and, when it comes to foreign policy, Trump claims to put "America first", but he pals around with fellow far-right authoritarians like Russia's Vladimir Putin and sells U.S. arms to the absolute monarchy that rules Saudi Arabia. My nationalist views are considerably different, and, in many ways, directly at odds with that with Trump. America is a nation of immigrants. To deny that America i

50 years ago today, sports and politics intersected in a big way at the Olympics

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the famous Black Power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics. After Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos won the gold and bronze medals, respectively, in the men's 200 meter dash track-and-field event, Smith and Carlos each raised a black-gloved fist while the U.S. national anthem played. The silver medalist, Australian Peter Norman, was a critic of Australia's former anti-immigrant White Australia policy, and, along with Smith and Carlos, wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge during the medal ceremony. In many ways, the Black Power salute of 1968 mirrors the recent and current actions of black athletes, and even some non-black athletes, in regards to President Donald Trump and racism against black Americans, such as kneeling during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before sporting events and refusing to accept invitations for traditional White House visits by champion sports teams. The athletes of today who are protesting are

A rising star in NASCAR endorses a rising star in the Democratic Party

This is the first time that I can recall a Democratic congressional candidate receiving an endorsement from a NASCAR driver, but Hailie Deegan, who drives in NASCAR's K&N Pro Series West, one of several regional NASCAR series that form the fourth tier of NASCAR-sanctioned automobile racing, publicly asked people in the 4th Congressional District of California to vote for Democratic candidate Jessica Morse: So inspiring to meet @HailieDeegan before her race at the @AllAmericanSpdy tomorrow! Hailie is 17 years old & the first female winner of a @NASCAR K&N West Series race. Good luck, Hailie & thanks for sharing your important message to #CA04 ! pic.twitter.com/pNP2CH49cp — Jessica Morse (@Morse4America) October 12, 2018 This can be thought of as one rising star endorsing another. Hailie Deegan is a rising star in NASCAR. Deegan, 17 years of age, recently won a race in NASCAR's K&N Pro Series West, one of the regional NASCAR series forming the fourth

Disgraced former MLB player Jose Canseco wants Trump to appoint him ambassador to the UN

Jose Canseco Capas Jr., a former Major League Baseball player who admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his MLB career, wants President Donald Trump to appoint him to the soon-to-be-vacant U.S. ambassadorship to the United Nations: Hey little buddy @realDonaldTrump I am interested in United Nations leadership .dm me for ideas and confidential 90 day plan #readynow — Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) October 9, 2018 Canseco's attempt to get Trump to appoint him to the ambassadorship to the UN struck me as rather odd (although it sounds like a serious effort by Canseco to get Trump to appoint him) for a number of reasons: Canseco has never actually retired from playing baseball. As recently as earlier this year, Canseco played in a few games for the Normal CornBelters of the independent Frontier League . Canseco doesn't have any prior diplomatic or political experience of any kind that I'm aware of. Canseco publicly admitted to using performance-enhancing