THE KAEPERNICK CHORUS — AGAIN
THE NAME ON THEIR LIPS
When Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith suffered a season-ending injury on Nov. 18, one name formed on the lips of increasingly politically motivated national sports writers and sports broadcasters: Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback of the “take-a-knee” infamy.
Among the breathless beaters of the Kaepernick drum were Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports, who brought up his name and then recalled the Redskins have said they have no interest in him; former NFL player Charles Woodson, who was sent by TMZ to an airport terminal to ask if Kaepernick should be picked up and opined that he didn’t think he’d be picked up but that “he definitely should be in the conversation” because “he’s doin’ a great thing”; and Carron J. Phillips of the New York Daily News, who wrote that with the injury Kaepernick “whispers began” because, after all, six years ago he became the youngest quarterback to win a regular-season game in New England.
Further, Jason Owens of Yahoo noted that “before the chorus of Kaepernick hate begins,” he wanted to point out the quarterback had a memorable season as recently as 2016 (though his 1-10 win-loss record begs to differ) and that he “is not a superstar” but is “a very good quarterback.” And, Mike Florio of NBC contended Kaepernick deserved a shot because “he continues to work out” and “he wants to play.”
The Redskins chose to skip the drama and signed another quarterback, Mark Sanchez.
SAYING ONE THING TO GET ELECTED
What can we expect from members who make up the new Democratic U.S. House majority? Just one example is Ilhan Omar, the Somali-American Muslim who was elected to replace U.S. Rep. Keith Ellis, D-Minnesota, the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Omar, during her campaign, fought accusations that she held anti-Israel views. In doing so, she told a group of Jewish voters she was against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, saying it was “counteractive” and “not helpful in getting that two-state solution.”
After winning the election, she said in an interview with MuslimGirl, she “supports the BDS movement.”
“Ilhan believes in and supports the BDS movement,” her campaign told the publication, “and has fought to make sure people’s right to support it isn’t criminalized.” It noted she had voted against an anti-BDS bill in the Minnesota legislature and had said such movements had worked in South Africa.
In recognizing her switch, the Anti-Defamation League said the BDS movement doesn’t just criticize other countries and organizations supporting Israel but “denies its right to exist as a Jewish” state. What, the organization wants to know, does she really believe?
What, indeed?
CLASSY COUPLE
Actress Amber Tamblyn claimed in a recent public appearance that she considered giving her unborn baby away following the election of President Donald Trump.
“When Clinton’s director of strategic communications informed Javits Center attendees [in New York City] that Clinton would not be speaking [on election night],” the Hollywood Reporter wrote of the actress’s comments to Vulture Fest’s “Feminist AF” in Los Angeles, she said, “A dark realization swallowed me: I was going to bring a baby into this world. And not just any baby: a girl.” Then, the report said, she wondered if she ought to give the baby away to Canadians or Swedes.
Tamblyn’s baby also has a father, actor David Cross, who is not fan of the president, either. In August, he joked about “beating President Donald Trump to a bloody pulp and then urinating and defecating on him.”
Despite their predilections, they kept the child.
FIRES ARE ACTIVISTS’ TOOLS
A University of Washington climate scientist who is no skeptic of global warming last week rebuffed those like California Gov. Jerry Brown who have blamed the Golden State’s tragic wildfires on climate change.
“Global warming is a profoundly serious threat to mankind,” Cliff Mass wrote on his blog, “but it has little impact [on] the Camp Fire and many of the coastal California fires of the past few years.
“And blaming global warming takes attention away from the actions needed to prevent such tragedies from happening again,” he wrote.
Brown had said “those who deny” climate change were contributing to the fires, and that while forest management was important, it “does not stop climate change.”
“The chickens are coming home to roost,” he said. “This is real here.”
Mass wrote that it was unfortunate “politicians, environmental advocacy groups and activist scientists” were attempting to use the fires as a tool for their global warming agenda. He said the fires were likely sparked by faulty power lines and were driven by the state’s natural Santa Ana winds.
He also debunked often-spouted theories that vegetation dried by rising temperatures provided fuel for the fires. The state is typically dry half the year, he said, and vegetation can dry out in as little as an hour, meaning even a recent rain wouldn’t prevent the vegetation from becoming kindling.