demmiblue
demmiblue's JournalSports Illustrated 2019 Sportsperson of the Year: Megan Rapinoe
On July 7, in the 61st minute of the 2019 World Cup final against the Netherlands, Rapinoe scored to put the U.S. up 1–0. To her, though, this was more than the goal that would win the Americans a record fourth title. It was the equivalent of flashing double-barrel middle fingers. She’d have loved to have done that just once. But, she says, “there are lines.”
The goal itself, on a penalty kick drawn by teammate Alex Morgan, was, like Rapinoe, more about brains than brawn. She reminded herself, Your opponent is more nervous than you are, then she went low and a bit right, breaking her tendency of high and left. Dutch goalkeeper Sari van Veenendaal flinched toward Rapinoe’s usual side, the net rippled, teammates swarmed and the whole scene ended with the pink-haired lesbian winger posing near the corner flag in defiance and triumph and joy: arms outstretched, chin up, head tipped just back.
The Pose, the signature sporting image of 2019, was more than a celebration, just as Rapinoe’s goal was more than a tournament-winner. No one knew this better than Rapinoe’s mom, Denise, and fraternal twin, Rachael, who together had traversed France for a month with the U.S. team and on the day of the final were sitting just down the sideline. They were there because Megan had laid it on thick that this might be her last World Cup (she’ll reassess after the 2020 Olympics) but also because they know she can be as sensitive as she is tough, and even those who appear superhuman need support. Especially if they’ve been publicly questioned by the leader of the free world.
https://www.si.com/sportsperson/2019/12/09/megan-rapinoe-2019-sportsperson-of-the-year
https://twitter.com/GrantWahl/status/1204049213069385728
Pentagon Concerned Russia Cultivating Sympathy Among US Troops
The second annual Reagan National Defense Survey, completed in late October, found nearly half of armed services households questioned, 46%, said they viewed Russia as ally.
Overall, the survey found 28% of Americans identified Russia as an ally, up from 19% the previous year.
In this photo taken on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, a sun ray illuminates St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square during a cold winter…
Generally, the pollsters found the positive views of Russia seemed to be “predominantly driven by Republicans who have responded to positive cues from [U.S.] President [Donald] Trump about Russia,” according to an executive summary accompanying the results.
https://www.voanews.com/usa/pentagon-concerned-russia-cultivating-sympathy-among-us-troops
https://twitter.com/mikercarpenter/status/1204050617255239680
The nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist church:
HT Rev. Karen Clark Ristine.
https://twitter.com/mattrindge/status/1203556607033929729
Congratulations, Natasha Bertrand, on the newest member of your family!
https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1203701927751639040
In 'Parker Looks Up,' A 2-Year-Old Shares A Moment With Michelle Obama
"The portrait of the first lady Michelle Obama loomed before me," Parker recalls. Now 4, Parker says the painting made her feel inspired. Also, she adds, Michelle Obama is now her friend.
That's because Parker became a viral sensation when a fellow museum-goer took a picture of her standing there, spellbound. Less than a week later, Parker got to meet – and dance — with Obama.
The experience has inspired a picture book — Parker Looks Up — written by Parker and her mom, Jessica Curry Morton, and illustrated by Brittany Jackson.
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/08/784483930/in-parker-looks-up-a-2-year-old-shares-a-moment-with-michelle-obama?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_term=nprnews
A Danish Think Tank Says The US Ambassador Banned A Trump Critic From An Event
Source: Buzz Feed News
A NATO expert was supposed to speak at an event in Copenhagen but got a letter from event organizers saying Ambassador Carla Sands did not want him there.
The US ambassador to Denmark, a donor to President Donald Trump’s first presidential campaign, has banned a NATO expert who has been critical of the president from speaking at an event in Copenhagen celebrating the NATO’s 70th anniversary.
Stanley Sloan, a visiting professor at Middlebury College, fellow at the Atlantic Council and former CIA analyst, was abruptly disinvited from the event by the Danish Atlantic Council, which said the embassy had communicated its displeasure. Sloan tweeted that it was because of his “critical evaluation of Trump’s impact on transatlantic relations.”
“[T]he Danish Atlantic Council via the official channels became instructed that Ambassador Carla Sands does not want presence at the Conference,” Lars Bangert Struwe, the head of the Danish Atlantic Council, with organized the event in cooperation with the US embassy, wrote in an email to Sloan.
The ambassador, Sands, is a former actress, chiropractor, and board member of major California institutions who was confirmed to her post in 2017 after making contributions to Trump’s campaign and inauguration and, according to ProPublica, being recommended by Eliott Broidy. Her official Twitter account looks much like any other ambassador’s, while her personal account is often retweets of articles from far-right outlets like Breitbart and Prager University.
Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/miriamelder/carla-sands-denmark-stanley-sloan-trump?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc
https://twitter.com/brianklaas/status/1203680787452837890
Exercise bike not included. #AviationGin
https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/1203118775815622664Heh... he jumped on that marketing opportunity!
Official: Base shooter watched shooting videos before attack
Source: AP
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — A US official says the Saudi student who fatally shot three people at a Florida naval base had hosted a dinner party the night before to watch videos of mass shootings. The official was briefed by federal investigators and spoke on condition of anonymity. He says authorities tell him one Saudi student was recording outside the building while the shooting took place. He says 10 Saudi students are being held at the base and that several others are still unaccounted for.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — U.S. officials investigating the deadly attack by a Saudi aviation student at a naval air station in Florida were working Saturday to determine whether it was motivated by terrorism.
An aviation student from Saudi Arabia opened fire in a classroom at the Naval Air Station Pensacola on Friday morning, killing three people. The assault, which prompted a massive law enforcement response and base lockdown, ended when a sheriff’s deputy killed the attacker. Eight people were hurt in the attack, including the deputy and a second deputy who was with him.
Family members on Saturday identified one of the victims as a 23-year-old recent graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who alerted first responders to where the shooter was even after he had been shot several times.
Read more: https://apnews.com/75a8adc71422596a54052540fabb7230?utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=SocialFlow
https://twitter.com/jonathanvswan/status/1203369187747540994
Meanwhile, inside the White House. What happened to separation of church and state?
https://twitter.com/howroute/status/1203349606437969920
I Worked for Alex Jones. I Regret It.
On Election Day 2016, I sat in the passenger seat of Alex Jones’s Dodge Hellcat as we swerved through traffic, making our way to a nearby polling place. As Jones punched the gas pedal to the floor, the smell of vodka, like paint thinner, wafted up from the white Dixie cup anchored in the console. My stomach churned as the phone I held streamed live video to Facebook: Jones rambling about voter fraud and rigged elections while I stared at the screen, holding the camera at an angle to hide his double chin. It rarely worked, but I didn’t want to be blamed when he watched the video later.
Four years earlier, Jones — wanting to expand his website, Infowars, into a full-blown guerrilla news operation and hoping to scout new hires from his growing fan base — held an online contest. At 23, I was vulnerable, angry and searching for direction, so I decided to give it a shot. Out of what Infowars said were hundreds of submissions, my video — a half-witted, conspiratorial glance at the creation and function of the Federal Reserve — made it to the final round.
Unconvinced I could cut it as a reporter, Jones offered me a full-time position as a video editor. I quit film school and moved nearly a thousand miles to Austin, Tex., fully invested in propagating his worldview. By the time I found myself seated next to Jones speeding down the highway, I had seen enough of the inner workings of Infowars to know better.
Before we left the office, Jones instructed me to title the video “Alex Jones Denied Right to Vote” when uploading to YouTube. He knew before we left that they wouldn’t let us walk into a polling location with our cameras rolling. I don’t think Jones even intended to vote. Rather, he hoped to turn this into a spectacle, an insult to him personally, another opportunity to play the self-aggrandizing victim.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/magazine/alex-jones-infowars.html
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