Trump's Strange Alabama speech

[ex-khobar Andy]

. . . has been widely reported. Among the gems according CNN is this one

The President bluntly told the crowd that when he was handed a list of 10 senators he needed to lobby to support his health care effort, some insisted on dinners and meetings with their families before Trump could win them over.

Could we get a list of these Senators who will trade their votes for a piece of steak and one scoop of ice cream? If I could get hold of that list, I will personally up the stake (did you see what I did there?) to include free breadsticks and two scoops of Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia.

[Long Run]

Two final points: One is that Mr. Trump is on a roll, a sustained one the past few weeks, and this is new. All levels of government performed well in the hurricanes. Mr. Trump showed competence, focus and warmth. His bipartisan outreach, however it ends, went over well with core supporters and others. He had a strong speech at the U.N., in fact a successful U.N. week, beginning to end. His poll numbers are inching toward 40%.

Which gets us to point two: This is a very important moment for him. History suggests he will ruin it any minute with intemperate statements, wiggy decisions or crazy tweets.

Yep.

[Lord Jim]

That's just how he rolls...

[Lord Jim]

Trump has apparently decided that it would be a "good idea" to morph the national anthem protests that have been carried out by players at pro sports games to protest racial inequality, into a way to protest Trump himself...

As a result, it's reasonable to expect that the sidelines of some NFL teams this Sunday will resemble the front row at a Catholic Mass, during the playing of the Anthem...(Hell, there will probably be thousands of people kneeling in the stands...)

I've made pretty clear how I feel about these displays of disrespect for the flag and the anthem by pro-athletes...

I see them as wrong-headed and misguided, and they have done absolutely nothing to bring more focus to the problems they are supposedly intended to highlight...

The only attention they have generated is for the players engaging in them...

And if a team decides to fire or not hire players based on these disrespectful displays, that's a business decision they have every right to make...Yes, everyone has a right to freedom of speech, but nobody has a "right" to play in the NFL...

But all of that having been said, there's one BIG difference between me, (and most of the people who feel about this the way I do) and Donald Trump...

The difference is that I would be critical of this form of protest no matter who was doing the protesting, and no matter what the supposed point of the protest was....

Does anyone seriously believe that this is true of Trump?

Does anyone believe for one moment, that if these were primarily white players, protesting something he agrees with ("reverse discrimination" or lack of respect for cops, or the removal of confederate monuments, to give just a few examples) that he would be calling them Sons of Bitches, and shouting for fans to boycott the games until the players are fired?

Yeah, right...

(Hell, if they were protesting Congressional failure to provide money for his wall, or the Russiagate investigations, he'd be cheering them on)

As with so many other things he has seized on, Donald Trump doesn't personally really give one small damn about the nature of these protests per se...

He decided to jump on this at this particular time because after a couple of pretty good weeks, he just had a really shitty week...

Repeal and Replace III: The Ineptitude Continues is headed for defeat, and there was another slew of extremely damaging developments in the Russiagate investigation...

So Trump saw the opportunity for a twofer; change the media focus from his failure to be able to get a healthcare bill passed and his ever increasing scandal problems, while also sending out a nice dog whistle to the more odious elements within his support base...

And he took it...

[ex-khobar Andy]

So according to Trump, Colin Kaepernick is not moral enough to play in the NFL; but Callista Gingrich is suitable for Ambassador to the Vatican. Leaving aside Mrs. G's selection for a sleeping partner (which she has [probably] a First Amendment right to make although I doubt that the Founding Fathers saw it that way) she was tupping Newtie for six years while he was married to Marianne.

Now I have no knowledge of Colin Kaepernick's relationship with his wife/girlfriend or his God (indeed I have to confess that I had never heard of him until this anthem-kneeling thing started) but judging from his Wikipedia entry he seems to be a decent young man. In fact maybe he would make a decent Ambassador to the Vatican. I suggest that if he is not picked up by an NFL team soon he should replace Mrs G as the nominee for emissary to Il Papa.

[BoSoxGal]

I see them as wrong-headed and misguided, and they have done absolutely nothing to bring more focus to the problems they are supposedly intended to highlight...

I don't know what sand hill your head is buried in, but the conversation is on fire all over the interwebs and the cable news channels that I'm reading/watching.

[Lord Jim]

The focus on bad police relations with minority communities has been going on in the media non-stop at least since Ferguson, and these grand-standing protests have done zero to add to that.

But if you're talking about discussions about the protests themselves, and the protestors, (as opposed to what the protests are supposedly aimed at accomplishing) yeah you're right...

Which is what I said...

They've certainly done a lot in terms of getting people to talk abut them and to line up on one side or the other about whether their form of protest is appropriate or not...

Generating discussion on the topic of police relations with minorities, not so much...

[BoSoxGal]

It isn't just about police relations, it's about racism and inequality in our society. Maybe you should turn on the news and see the response to the Ravens & Jaguars taking a knee in London today. People ARE talking about WHY; these conversations take time, obviously, since we've been having this one for a few hundred years.

[Long Run]

I'm with LJ on this: there is plenty of chatter as to whether this is an appropriate way to make a statement, but almost no discussion about what they are protesting. Maybe the underlying issue is discussed in the circles that focus on this topic, but among the general population it has done nothing to further the discussion (or even start the discussion).

[Lord Jim]

Maybe you should turn on the news and see the response to the Ravens & Jaguars taking a knee in London today.

I don't know what you've been watching, but I've followed a lot of the news about this this morning, on multiple outlets, and overwhelmingly what I'm seeing is discussion about how Trump has turned this form of protest into an expression of defiance towards him, and how that's affecting the number of those participating...

The race relations message aspect of this has always been badly overshadowed by the personal attention aspect and now it's getting completely lost, as Trump has now made himself and his words and actions the target of the protest...

Frankly what I had noticed before Trump decided to jump into this, is that media coverage of these displays (except on FOX News) had all but died away...

The explosion in attention you're seeing now, is entirely a function of Trump getting involved, and his transforming kneeling during the national Anthem into a way to protest him ...

There's a lot of curiosity, (which I share) to see how this change in the meaning of the protest will affect participation...

[Lord Jim]

Most of the 'Skins did the Stand And Link Arms thing, including team owner Dan Snyder (which I have no personal objection to; that both shows proper respect and "solidarity") and a few took the knee...

On the other side, it looked like almost the entire Raiders team took the most disrespectful option possible, sitting on their asses...

[Guinevere]

I can't believe how entirely blind you are to the fact that dissent and peaceful protest is exactly what the First Amendment protects. You have to admit, if you find yourself on the same side of an argument as one Donald J Trump, it's well past time to acknowledge that you were wrong.

As for the issue of racism and protest by athletes, it was getting quite a lot of press and coverage before the so-called president stepped in to add his "thoughts." In fact, I'd argue that's exactly why he got involved, because it is something that is being talked about. As the NFL season began earlier this month, I've seen many many articles and many many tweets about how Kaepernick is being treated, about racism in professional sports and in this country in general. It has been front and center in both the New York Times and the Washington Post.

[RayThom]

#1) Trump is an asshole.

#2) As derisive as this anthem craziness is getting the only way to get things back to a modicum of civility is to abandon the tradition. I never understood why it became so pervasive throughout our national sports industry in the first place. Maybe it sold more tickets back in 1918 but those days are over.

Everybody sing:

Oh say can you see
by the TV's blue light
when democracy failed
and Wall Street was scheming
the jail stripes and iron bars
left the ghettos in scars
from our sofas we watched
as the nation was screaming
and the missiles red glare
star wars nukes in the air
if you're not rich and white
then your rights are stripped bare
oh say will that blood-spattered
dollar still reign
in the land of corporate greed
and the home of the slave.

[Guinevere]

And then there is this:

MLK kneels in protest

[dales]

All this so-called protest is doing is angering the fans of the NFL who will vote with their pocketbook.

[Lord Jim]

I can't believe how entirely blind you are to the fact that dissent and peaceful protest is exactly what the First Amendment protects.

I think I may have found a copy of the Constitution you're using:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, or the right of the people to play in the National Football League, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

ETA:

At the half:

Washington Redskins......14

Oakland Ass Sitters...........0

[Crackpot]

today seems to be a perfect example of the old adage: Never argue with a fool they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

[Lord Jim]

The 'Skins are certainly giving Oakland quarterback Derek Carr ample opportunity to sit on his ass...

They've sacked him four times...

[Guinevere]

Continue to willfully ignore the point at your own peril. Proving you and the so-called President have something in common.

[Guinevere]

All this so-called protest is doing is angering the fans of the NFL who will vote with their pocketbook.

Another one citing the so-called President. Careful relying on him for so-called "facts."

Protests not necessarily to blame

Also see wiki for annual attendance figures as percentage of capacity (through 2016). Data from the first two games of 2017 available on ESPN.com is consistent - but I cannot stay if there is any statistical difference. Seems to me its just as likely some number of fans aren't interested in paying sky high prices for an inferior product. It is equally likely that all of those politically savvy folks in DC are staying home because they prefer not to support a team with a hateful, racist name. Or parents don't want their kids watching because of CTE. Or concern about violence and domestic violence, which the NFL has done a crappy job with.

Deadskins only sold 85% capacity last year