Quote of the Day -- Happy Sunday!

Have a great day, y'all.

Happy Sunday

Try to have a nice day.

Nike And Big Name Athletes Respond To Mr. Trump's "Muslim Ban"

Nike has a fantastic ad campaign out just now, complete with videos and a full page ad in the NYT today, responding to this President's attempt to shut America's doors. And with racism, no less.

Nike ad sends serious message about equality, opportunity and discrimination

Here's the video:

So kudos, congratulations and much success to you, Nike! A fantastic campaign, for sure! Equality--or something very near it--is what has and should make America great, not fear-mongering and racism and "alternative facts." Y'all are "hitting it out of the ballpark", in sports terms.

Additional links and further, terrific support:

Tiger Woods gets political with Nike's new 'Equality' campaign

LeBron James, Serena Williams and others push Nike equality ad

WATCH: LeBron James and Kevin Durant star in Nike ad calling for 'equality'

Timely Quote of the Day

A good, even important read from Abraham Lincoln and our nation's history. Very timely, I think, what with our new President's actions of these last 2 weeks of his very new Presidency.

Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address

Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address was delivered to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois on January 27, 1838, titled "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions."  Here's the quote.

"Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;--let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap--let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars."

The Unprecedented, Even Outrageous Presidency That Already Is Donald J. Trump, One Week In

Okay, end of week one of the Trump Presidency, weekend number two and what do we have yet again?

This was last weekend.

Women lead unprecedented worldwide 

mass protests against Trump

There were, as I pointed out earlier, an unprecedented number of protests not just all across the nation, which I don't believe ever occurred before, but all across the world, as well, and on all 7 continents. 

So here we are, one week later and he's done it again. First, across the nation.

Protests Build Across the Country 

Against Trump's Immigration Order

Then, again, once again, across the world.

Global backlash grows against 

Trump's immigration order

It's important we both know and keep in mind that all of these protests are, in fact, not just unprecedented for even a US President but especially a just-inaugurated President. Two weekends in a row of protests in the home nation and across the globe and we're only 9 days in to the administration.

Lots of us across the nation predicted a Trump Presidency would be turbulent. None of us, I think it's safe to say, thought it would be this much. It seems clear it's going to be a far wilder ride with this man, this Mr. Donald J. Trump than we would have ever imagined.

Links:

In Boston, a Late-Night Victory Against Trump’s Immigration Ban

Confusion, detentions plunge airports into chaos despite 
federal judge’s order

Trump World's Alternative Reality

John McCain, Lindsey Graham lead in GOP criticism of Trump ban

Judge halts deportations as refugee ban causes 

worldwide furor

The Right Wing and Republican Fear Platform

Tiresome. So tiresome.

One More Shooting and Slaughter of American Innocents

Coincidentally and eve ironically, I got this political cartoon from none other than the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Open Letter to Donald Trump (Guest Post)

In case anyone didn't see documentary film maker Michael Moore's open letter to The Donald, Donald Trump, I post it here. It needs to be seen.

Dear Donald Trump:

You may remember (you do, after all, have a "perfect memory!"), that we met back in November of 1998 in the green room of a talk show where we were both scheduled to appear one afternoon. But just before going on, I was pulled aside by a producer from the show who said that you were "nervous" about being on the set with me. She said you didn't want to be "ripped apart" and you wanted to be reassured I wouldn't "go after you." 

"Does he think I'm going to tackle him and put him in a choke hold?" I asked, bewildered. "No," the producer replied, "he just seems all jittery about you." "Huh. I've never met the guy. There's no reason for him to be scared," I said. "I really don't know much about him other than he seems to like his name on stuff. I'll talk to him if you want me to." 

And so, as you may remember, I did. I went up and introduced myself to you. "The producer says you're worried I might say or do something to you during the show. Hey, no offense, but I barely know who you are. I'm from Michigan. Please don't worry -- we're gonna get along just fine!" You seemed relieved, then leaned in and said to me, "I just didn't want any trouble out there and I just wanted to make sure that, you know, you and I got along. That you weren't going to pick on me for something ridiculous." 

"Pick on" you? I thought, where are we, in 3rd grade? 

I was struck by how you, a self-described tough guy from Queens, seemed like such a fraidey-cat. You and I went on to do the show. Nothing untoward happened between us. I didn't pull on your hair, didn't put gum on your seat. "What a wuss," was all I remember thinking as I left the set. 

And now, here we are in 2015 and, like many other angry white guys, you are frightened by a bogeyman who is out to get you. That bogeyman, in your mind, are all Muslims. Not just the ones who have killed, but ALL MUSLIMS. 

Fortunately, Donald, you and your supporters no longer look like what America actually is today. We are not a country of angry white guys. Here's a statistic that is going to make your hair spin: Eighty-one percent of the electorate who will pick the president next year are either female, people of color, or young people between the ages of 18 and 35. In other words, not you. And not the people who want you leading their country. 

So, in desperation and insanity, you call for a ban on all Muslims entering this country. 

I was raised to believe that we are all each other's brother and sister, regardless of race, creed or color. That means if you want to ban Muslims, you are first going to have to ban me. And everyone else. 

We are all Muslim. Just as we are all Mexican, we are all Catholic and Jewish and white and black and every shade in between. We are all children of God (or nature or whatever you believe in), part of the human family, and nothing you say or do can change that fact one iota. If you don't like living by these American rules, then you need to go to the time-out room in any one of your Towers, sit there, and think about what you've said. And then leave the rest of us alone so we can elect a real president who is both compassionate and strong -- at least strong enough not to be all whiny and scared of some guy in a ballcap from Michigan sitting next to him on a talk show couch. 

You're not so tough, Donny, and I'm glad I got to see the real you up close and personal all those years ago. 

We are all Muslim. Deal with it. 

All my best, 

Michael Moore 

P.S. I'm asking everyone who reads this letter to go here (http://michaelmoore.com/weareallmuslim), and sign the following statement: "WE ARE ALL MUSLIM" -- and then post a photo of yourself holding a homemade sign saying "WE ARE ALL MUSLIM" on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram using the hashtag ‪#‎WeAreAllMuslim‬. I will post all the photos on my site and send them to you, Mr. Trump. Feel free to join us. 

P.P.S. - To sign my statement for #WeAreAllMuslim, go here on my website: http://michaelmoore.com/weareallmuslim

Dear Believer

An open letter to all believers across the planet. So simple, so clear, so intelligent.

So true.



So true.

Enjoy your day, y'all.

Religious Fundamentalists: America vs. the Middle East

This is magnificent. There are only two problems with it.

First, it doesn't make its point in 60 seconds or less and

second, the people who should see it won't and worse, even if they did, they either wouldn't get it or would deny there's any truth to it.

For the rest of us, enjoy.

In Memoriam, 9/11

To the estimated 4,347 American soldiers who died in the war we were all lied into (see Casualties in Iraq),

Links:  The Bush White House Was Deaf to 9/11 Warnings

Bush Received More Warnings About 9/11 Than We Realized

Bush Warned of Hijackings Before 9-11

For the Religionists, Upset by This Week's Supreme Court Ruling on Equality

This applies to Right Wing Christians, Mormons, Islamists, Muslims, Hasidic Jews, all y'all.

You realize you're all in the same figurative boat on this, right?

You get that, right?

America's Right Wing Religious Caliphate

Mrs. Betty Bowers does it again, calling them out for what and who they are.

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

"We humans are entering an era of enormous danger. Chaos and injustice will inevitably accompany the changing global climate, and right now we humans don't have much to unify us in facing that. Our species needs every advantage we can possibly muster, and peace between science and God, peace between reason and spirit, would certainly be advantageous. For millions of thoughtful rational people to have no way to draw on their spiritual power is a tragedy."

From the brief NPR article:

A New Way To Think About 'God'

More links, more thoughts:

'A God That Could Be Real' In The Scientific Universe

Part 2 here:

A New Way To Think About 'God'

Thoughts. On the world

The problem with most humans is that in order to live and be able to hopefully understand or make sense of it--life--is that we anthropomorphize it.

We give life and/or the universe human characteristics. We anthropomorphize our worlds and so, the universe.  We give the cold, uncaring, ever-progressing--however slowly--universe a personality and rules.  And we do this so much so we name it.

For a lot of us, it can be merely “god” or “God.” For others, a lot of others, we take it further than that, even. We give, usually him, a specific name. Some examples are, of course, Jesus, Yahweh, Mohammed, Allah, or any number of monikers. We complicate things, the world, the universe and so, our lives and our own worlds.

The only real rule is love.

Love everything. Be kind. Share. Smile. Help one another.  All good stems from one rule, this one rule.

Love.

Your religion? Geographic

Aren't you special?  (click on picture for easier reading)

Your Sunday humor

Enjoy your Sunday, y'all.

Muslim extremists hurting their own cause

Did you see this rather big story from England today?

Chilling video of London attacker explaining machete attack

The report is that "..two men attacked a man believed to be a British soldier in the London neighborhood of Woolwich, but U.K. officials are already investigating it as a possible act of terrorism.

One of the two men are quoted as saying "We swear by Almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you. The only reasons we have done this is because Muslims are dying every day. This British soldier is an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth. We apologise that women had to see this today but in our lands our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don’t care about you."

And all I can say is that with the reports from around the world, that so many Muslims strapped bombs to themselves and blew themselves and innocents up, time after time, their fellow countrymen, frequently, and now this, it's all creating images of Muslims and Islamists that far too many people across in many countries, Americans, British, all kinds of people, all over the world, that they think "they're all like that."

This is going nowhere good for them, that's for sure, and for too many of them, they don't seem to care. How they expect this to go well for them, I don't know or understand.

In the meantime, here's something that won't get reported enough, also from today:

Woolwich attack: Religious groups condemn attack

And from this article:

...Muslim groups have condemned the attack after a video captured of the suspected attackers saying: “We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you.”

A statement from the Muslim Council of Britain said: “This is a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family.

“We understand the victim is a serving member of the Armed Forces. Muslims have long served in this country’s Armed Forces, proudly and with honour.

“This attack on a member of the Armed Forces is dishonourable, and no cause justifies this murder.”

The group called for vigilance and solidarity between “all our communities, Muslim and non-Muslim”, and for police to “calm tensions”.

Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation said: “I wish to condemn the evil and barbaric crime carried out today in Woolwich.

“Our immediate thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims. From whatever angle you see today’s attack, it was at every level evil.

“We must allow the police to gather all the facts before unnecessary speculation and wait for the facts before determining its impact on our country.

“But what happens in the days to come, London and our nation will come together and will not be divided. The terrorists will never win and succeed in their evil plans.

“But tonight we think of the family of that soldier killed.”

So let's keep that in mind,  too, if we can. 

Don't think all Muslims are for this bararity.

Purely by fluke, I ran across this flip side of the coin, so to speak, this evening, too:

British soldier jailed for stabbing 10-year-old Afghan boy - Telegraph

But that's different, right?

Right?

The Tea Party, the Right Wing and all that hypocrisy

You don't suppose they'll see their hypocrisy eventually, do you?

Fortunately, there is some good news, too, right now: 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/05/16/the-scandals-are-falling-apart/

I miss Communism

I miss Communism.

I kind of miss the "Cold War."

Back when there was the big, bad, ugly Russian Communists, we knew who our enemies were and it was "them." Now, we don't know who our enemies are as well so we attack one another. We attack fellow Americans.

It was far less Republicans vs Democrats and "Left" vs "Right."

We've stopped talking to one another, we've stopped discussing our problems and possible solutions, instead attacking one another.

Now we attack opposing political stances, gays, blacks, Hispanics, Mexicans, Muslims, you name it. All fellow Americans but we attack 'em.

It's crazy.

This is no way to run a nation.


I miss it when we were all Americans, when we were all on the same side.