July 19, 2017

It's National Hot Dog Day! "Do you want to live forever?"

Wednesday is National Hot Dog Day! Find freebies, deals on dogs



Two examples:

Burger King: Hot dogs are 79 cents each through July 31 at participating locations.

Sonic Drive-In: All-American Hot Dogs and Chili Cheese Coneys are $1 all day at participating locations.

July 18, 2017

Alabama State University Celebrates 150th Birthday

Alabama State University has reached a major milestone in its history.

Its celebrating its Sesquicentennial birthday after turning 150 years old Monday.

School officials say it makes Alabama State the oldest ‘state sponsored’ historically black liberal arts university in the nation.

Alabama State grew out of the Lincoln Normal School in Marion which was founded in 1867 by a group of newly freed former slaves.

"We want all the people to look at the model of the Marion nine who put together $500 dollars to really help build this,” said ASU Vice President Zillah Fluker.

“And imagine if they put an investment now what that could become in 50, 100, 150 years, so the focal point is making sure that Alabama State University is here for generations to come.”

Fluker says Alabama State has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people through education.

Fluker also says the university contributes more than $900 million dollars a year to the state and local economy.

http://www.alabamanews.net/2017/07/18/alabama-state-university-celebrates-150th-birthday/

July 17, 2017

Democrats See Conservative Blue Dogs as Key to Winning House

(A number of facts to consider)

Source: Bloomberg, by Arit John

*****

Blue Dogs say the fate of House Democrats rises and falls on their success. The caucus grew to a high of 54 members in 2008 before they, and the Democratic majority, were wiped out two years later in a Republican wave. Of the 194 Democrats in the House, 18 are members of the Blue Dog group.

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The Blue Dogs were founded in 1995 when a faction of conservative Democrats formed a coalition in the House to focus on fiscal responsibility and national security. Its primary role has been to moderate more ambitious, liberal policies such as Obamacare from Democratic presidents. The caucus’s name was inspired in part by the idea that they were being "choked blue" by the left.

In the 2016 election, when the Democrats picked up six House seats, half of the newly elected lawmakers became Blue Dogs: Representatives Tom O’Halleran of Arizona, Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey. The DCCC is working with the Blue Dogs to replicate that success on a wider scale next year, said DCCC spokesman Tyler Law.

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The DCCC has made a "robust and concerted" effort to include the Blue Dogs in recruiting candidates and let them take the lead in assisting potential candidates with messaging and finding consultants, said Representative Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, the chairwoman of the Blue Dog PAC.

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She said they are playing a role in lining up candidates in 50 to 70 districts. The Blue Dogs are also working on pairing potential candidates with the pollsters, advertisers and consultants that its members have worked with for years.

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"The Democrats have won every liberal seat in the country," Sinema said. "What the Democrats haven’t done is won all of the swing seats in the country."

Read it all at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-17/democrats-see-conservative-blue-dogs-as-key-to-winning-house

July 16, 2017

Question of the Day: Will Trump stick around to hand out the trophy? *Warning: Disturbing Images*

U.S. Women's Open has an interesting set of top contenders after yesterday.

The Leaderboard and tee times today:

1. S. Feng -9 2:25
T2. Hye-J. Choi (a) -8 2:25
T2. A. Yang -8 2:14
4. S. Hyun Park -6 2:14
T5. M. Lee -5 2:03
T5. S. Yeon Ryu -5 2:03
T5. Jeongeun6 Lee -5 1:52

How will this "American Exceptionalism" play to his supporters - at the U.S. Open?

A touch of drama for this Sunday...will he or won't he?


"Making America great again."

[img][/img]


Beatles reference: "...Clutching forks and knives, to eat their bacon!"



Follow today at: http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/07/president_donald_trump_at_us_womens_open_live_upda_1.html

July 15, 2017

Trump loves golf. It buys him loyalty, amnesia l Editorial

Source: NJ.com, by Star-Ledger Editorial Board

There is only one ground rule regarding Donald Trump's habitual abuse of women that remains inviolable: You tolerate it if you benefit from being his ally, and you tell your moral code to shut up.

*****

This decision to use Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster was made back in 2012, so the USGA has had enough time to reconsider it. Yet it chose to stay the course - either out of fear of a lawsuit threat from the President, or because it has no reservations about giving millions in free advertising and revenue to a man who has sustained a lifelong pattern of degrading and objectifying women.

*****

You are likely to see women like Lexi Thompson and Brittany Lang in fierce competition for a $5 million tournament purse, and forget about women such as Jill Harth and Summer Zervos, just two of many who sued Trump for sexual assault.

You are likely to witness a jubilant athlete match Trump's beaming visage as he hands over the championship trophy, and none of the abject fear felt by Kristin Anderson and Jessica Leeds, just two of the many whom Trump groped without consequences.

You are likely to hear players like Cristie Kerr and Natalie Gulbis talk about their gratitude for Trump's friendship and face time on "The Apprentice," but not a word from women he tried to humiliate, such as Miss Universe Alicia Machado, Megyn Kelly, Mika Brzezinski, or Brande Roderick, the Apprentice contestant he envisioned "dropping to your knees."

*****

Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the women's rights group UltraViolet, put it plainly: "By holding the US Women's Open at Trump's golf course," she said, "the USGA and LPGA are sending a message to women across the country that this kind of racist, sexist, abusive behavior is okay."

Especially when there is a profit motive. That's what the Trump name was all about, until misogyny and predation also became presidential pastimes.

Read it all at: http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/07/trump_loves_golf_especially_when_it_buys_him_loyal.html




http://www.nj.com/somerset/index.ssf/2017/07/trump_supporters_protesters_face_off_at_rally_in_n.html#incart_river_home

July 15, 2017

"What's he up to this weekend?"

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/886058483392622592


"It's all about the golfers!"




"Ever see him happier?"




"Crowds?"

[img][/img]

http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/07/president_donald_trump_at_us_womens_open_live_upda.html#incart_river_home

July 14, 2017

Lizette Salas is the perfect champion at Donald Trump's U.S. Women's Open

There are so many stories - and scenarios - at this tournament! (She is 5 back at -1 to start today!)

Source: NJ.com, by Steve Politi

Lizette Salas is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, and her parents can think of no greater honor than to watch the LPGA player win the U.S. Women's Open this week.

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And, if you're a fan of schadenfreude, this is exactly the scenario you should want to see unfold this week in Bedminster: To have Salas not only win the championship, but to have Donald Trump -- the one who painted Mexican immigrants as "drug dealers, criminals and rapists" on his first day as a presidential candidate -- emerge from his exclusive skybox at his favorite golf course and hand her the trophy.

Now that would be the perfect ending to this week at Trump National. She would proudly accept it, even if she is one of the few LPGA players who have publicly spoken out against him. 

"After last night, this country isn't what I thought it was," Salas tweeted the morning after the election. "I ask that the whole world pray for the citizens who still believe in morals."

*****

She said she wasn't surprised that the USGA didn't move this tournament given what was at stake, and she understands the people who believe she could have made a statement with a boycott. 

But this is the championship she has dreamed about winning since she was that 7-year-old girl learning the sport. This is the moment that her parents, who will follow her around the course this week, sacrificed to make possible in the country they love. 

*****

Read it all at: http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/07/lizette_salas_donald_trump_us_womens_open_column_p.html

July 14, 2017

Tim Tebow magic continues as he hits walk-off home run

Could we see "The Miracle Mets?"

Source: USA Today Sports, by Alysha Tsuji

Since being promoted to High-A St. Lucie by the Mets, Tim Tebow has been putting on quite the show for the fans.

On Thursday night, the former NFL quarterback’s huge highlight was hitting a walk-off home run.

*****

For now, his teammates seem to be loving it. They dumped water all over him to celebrate the win.

[img][/img]

It’s Tebow Magic. It’s happening.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/07/tim-tebow-walk-off-home-run-mets-minor-league-class-a-advanced-magic-video-watch

July 14, 2017

President Trump, stay away from U.S. Women's Open this weekend

Source: USA Today Sports. by Christine Brennan

Word is Donald Trump is planning to come to his New Jersey golf course over the weekend. There’s nothing new about that; he has been here three times since becoming president in January, including a recent visit in which he was videotaped driving a golf cart on one of the greens, a serious faux pas that you don't see every day.

But this time is different. There’s a tournament going on at Trump National this week. It’s a big one, the crown jewel of women’s golf: the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open.

If Trump shows up, he will overwhelm the event. He won’t be a story. He will be THE story. He will steal the spotlight from the golfers who deserve it, women who receive a fraction of the attention, and the pay, of their male counterparts.

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If you show up, Mr. President, you become the ultimate distraction. Cameras that would be focused on the golfers will turn toward you. Crowds will swell to get a glimpse of you, the ultimate leader in the clubhouse, not the leaders on the course. Protesters who have been massing on social media will be thrilled to give you their opinions in person.

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Read it all at: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/brennan/2017/07/12/president-trump-stay-away-u-s-womens-open-weekend/473666001/

AND:

Time for women golfers to stand up and speak out

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What’s going on? It’s impossible for LPGA players to say this publicly, but they know they are second-class citizens in what still is an overwhelmingly male-dominated sport. Actually, second-class might be putting too positive a spin on it. They really might be third-class, following the men’s PGA Tour and the senior men’s Champions Tour — just happy to accept any table scraps the guys leave behind.

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Then there’s the pay disparity between what the men and the women make from the U.S. Golf Association. Last month’s men’s U.S. Open purse was $12 million, with $2.16 million going to the winner, Brooks Koepka. This week, the women are playing for a purse of $5 million, with $900,000 going to the winner.

That’s the largest purse in the history of women’s golf, but it’s not even half of what the men make.

If you’re tempted to say that’s just how it goes in sports, consider this: the U.S. Tennis Association started paying the women the same amount of money as the men at the 1973 U.S. Open, nearly 44 years ago.



Eric Trump is already there.

[img][/img]

July 12, 2017

USGA has put golfers in an awful position in Donald Trump's shadow at the U.S. Women's Open

Source: NJ.com, by Steve Politi

*****

The media will get criticized, but blame the gutless organization that put her and the other 155 golfers here in this position. That's the travesty of this tournament. USGA officials have said, again and again and again, that they want the nation's premier event for women's golf to be about the players and the competition.
 
And still: They are the ones who failed to move the tournament from a country club owned by a politician who bragged about sexual assault as revealed during the presidential campaign last fall. As a result, they are the ones who assured that Donald Trump's presence would swallow this tournament whole this week whether or not he decided to attend.

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Of course he's coming. This is the shining moment for his golf empire, a chance to showcase the club he built to the world. This is a chance to be showered with the kind of positive attention he craves, with no nasty questions about Russian interference in the election.
 
And, besides, it's the weekend. 

*****

Read it all at: http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/07/usga_has_put_the_golfers_in_an_awful_position_in_d.html



"Lord Trump's" skybox is ready!



The stand, with windows on three sides and stars-and-stripes bunting along the facade, is neatly appointed with two flat-screen TVs, a refrigerator filled with coke products, several leather chairs and -- of course -- an American flag. It is within a few yards of the tee box for the 16th hole, a tricky par-3 hole over water, and looks out at the 18th green and a fountain that appears to have the Roman god Neptune on top.



http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/07/donald_trump_will_have_his_own_skybox_at_the_us_wo.html#incart_river_home