New Orleans Snags 2017 All Star Game.

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Nearly a month after the NBA announced that it would move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte, N.C., in the wake of the state’s anti-LGBT law, league leadership announced today that the game will take place in New Orleans.

CNN reports that the February 19 game will be played in New Orleans’s Smoothie King Center, marking the third time the Big Easy has hosted the All-Star Game.

“New Orleans is a world-class destination for sports and entertainment and we are very appreciative that the city is once again hosting our All-Star festivities,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement today. “We are grateful to Tom and Gayle Benson and the Pelicans organization and to Governor John Bel Edwards, Mayor Mitch Landrieu and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation for inviting us back for what promises to be another exciting and memorable celebration of the game.”

The news comes as tens of thousands of Louisiana residents work to rebuild after historic flooding that has destroyed an estimated 40,000 homes in the southern part of the state, killed at least 13 people, and prompted more than 86,000 to seek federal disaster assistance. The NBA and its National Basketball Players Association have promised to contribute financially to the recovery effort, in addition to volunteering time and resources during the weeks leading up to the game.

“Even in the midst of a historic crisis, I am excited that the NBA has recognized how great the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana are,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a Friday statement. “In Louisiana, one of the strongest bonds that unites all of us is our passion for sports. Not only will NBA fans be able to participate in the All-Star Game events, they will also be a part of our world-famous Mardi Gras festivities. The fan experience can’t get any better than that.”

Full Story at the Advocate.

Trump’s Louisiana Donation: The Winner Is…

Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins Bil Browning

Family Research Council leader Tony Perkins.

Yes, that’s right, Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council, a rabidly anti-queer religious extremist.

Donald Trump has reportedly donated $100,000 to help Louisiana residents affected by disastrous floods — but he’s put it in the hands of an anti-LGBT church whose interim pastor is Tony Perkins, head of the infamously homophobic Family Research Council.

I want to emphasize that reportedly, because supposedly, Trump has made donations before, but they have an interesting way of never showing up anywhere.

Trump visited the church, located in the Baton Rouge suburb of Greenwell Springs, and made other stops in the area at the invitation of Perkins. The church is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, which believes that being LGBT is a sin. The Greenwell Springs church’s website includes a “Statement on Marriage and Sexuality,” which reads in part:

We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.

It asks church employees and volunteers to “abide by and agree to” the statement and “conduct themselves accordingly.”

[…]

Perkins, as a Louisiana delegate to this year’s Republican National Convention, took credit for helping to create what even the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay conservative group, termed the most anti-LGBT platform in party history. It continues to oppose marriage equality, denounces the Obama administration’s call for transgender students’ access to gendered facilities of their choice, and contends that parents have a right to enroll their children in any kind of therapy. The last is a thinly veiled endorsement of “ex-gay” therapy, even though major medical groups condemn it as ineffective and harmful, and several states and cities have barred licensed professionals from subjecting minors to it.

The Advocate has the story.

Adding Insult to Injury.

August 18th, 2016. Reuters.

August 18th, 2016. Reuters.

Indianz.com reports:

Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier of Morton County has been largely responsible for law enforcement at the site and he has accused protesters of shooting guns, carrying weapons and even threatening to use pipe bombs against his officers. But tribal members told The New York Times that the “bombs” were mistaken for sacred Chanunpa pipes used in ceremonies.

It’s bad enough the feds and “homeland security” has decided to lie about why they pulled the camps’ water supply and air conditioned trailer. This wouldn’t have anything to do with intimidation and force, oh no. *spits* And seriously, Chanunpa are pipe bombs? Please, the last thing we need is stupid cop paranoia.

WE ARE STANDING. WE ARE RESISTANCE. JOIN US.

Support Sacred Stone Camp. Legal Fund Help. Rezpect Our Water.  Sign the Petition. Sign urgent petition. And Washington DC people, don’t forget – the hearing is tomorrow! Susan Sarandon has tweeted that she will be there, among many others.

Live news from the camp, I’ll update when possible.

Dakota Access and The Mindset of Christendom.

Steven Newcomb (Shawnee, Lenape) has an excellent column up at ICTMN, and it’s very relevant to the state’s latest moves against the Lakota people.

You can read about that here.

Onto the column…

When I saw the news of Chairman Archambault’s arrest, it made me think of something our great Shawnee leader Tecumseh said to an audience of Native people:

“The Great Spirit in His wisdom placed you here and gave it [this land] to you and your children to defend. But ä-te-wä! [alas!] the incoming race, like a huge serpent is coiling closer and closer about you.”

Of the pipeline, Chairman Archambault says, “We don’t want this black snake within our Treaty boundaries.” He continues, “We need to stop this pipeline that threatens our water. We have said repeatedly we don’t want it here. We want the Army Corps of Engineers to honor the same rights and protections that were afforded to others, rights we were never afforded when it comes to our territories. We demand the pipeline be stopped and kept off our Treaty boundaries.”

The proposed pipeline will carry millions of barrels of crude oil. It only takes one break and a massive release of the hydrocarbons to poison sacred waters for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe with toxicity. The Standing Rock Hunkpapa know that water is the basis of life and ought to be held in the highest regard.

Ms. Taliman says the conflict is taking place in “Hunkpapa Territory near Cannon Ball.” To an extent this is what the Dakota Access pipeline project comes down to: Whose territory is it, and whose values shall prevail in that territory? The values of the American empire? Or the spiritual and ecological values of Original Nations such as the Standing Rock Sioux Nation?

[Read more…]

Gandalf Doesn’t Do Weddings.

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Ian McKellen says he turned down $1.5m (£1.14m) to officiate at Napster billionaire Sean Parker’s wedding dressed as Gandalf the wizard.

McKellen, who played the character in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, didn’t know the source of the offer when he was asked to marry Parker and his wife, singer Alexandra Lenas. The request came via a mutual acquaintance of Parker and McKellen’s, according to the Mail on Sunday. McKellen said he would have considered the offer if Parker hadn’t stipulated that he come in character.

“I don’t go dressing up, except in plays and things,” McKellen said. “So I said, ‘I am sorry, Gandalf doesn’t do weddings.’”

[…]

Even though Gandalf didn’t marry Parker,the real McKellen may be available for weddings: the actor qualified as a celebrant in 2013, which allowed him to officiate the civil wedding of actor Patrick Stewart and musician Sunny Ozell.

Via The Guardian.

A Classic Coulter Meltdown.

Image: Ann Coulter speaks to Fox News (Screen capture).

Image: Ann Coulter speaks to Fox News (Screen capture).

While demographic trends have shown that people of color are increasingly opposed to the predominantly white party and are growing in number, Coulter pins the GOP’s downfall not on Donald Trump but on Clinton’s “illegal” voters.

“If Hillary wins … she has said, Tim Kaine has said, amnesty for all illegal immigrants,” Coulter continued. “We know that’s 30, 40 million. She’s going to throw open the southern border. She’s going to more than quadruple the number of Muslim refugees we bring in.”

The ultimate result will be: “There will be no hope for any Republican ever winning another election,” she concluded. “There’s no point to what I do, what talk radio hosts do, what Fox News does,” she said. “Nobody goes to the game when you can’t win.”

Oooh, now that’s what I call a result! Of course it won’t happen, but we sure as hell can hope. The world would be so much better with such absences. Back to reality, there will never be a lack of things for the alt right to be hysterical over, because frothing and freaking out is the only thing they know to do. Well, that and whine about being persecuted.

Coulter seemed to be giving up on her crusade against the mainstream media. “I’ve been recommending that since the Mexico debate in his speech to get fair coverage. But I’m not sure it’s worth it,” Coulter said. “Because look, if he loses, Hillary has edge.”

That doesn’t mean Coulter wouldn’t take a job if Trump offered her a show on TrumpTV. “I would love to go into business with him,” she said.

She also noted that some have said that Trump has softened his immigration approach but they’re wrong. “If there’s one thing we’re going to get out of a Trump presidency, it’s a wall,” she said.

TrumpTV. Right, well that’s Fox 2.0 on steroids, ennit? Oh, that fucking wall. Why on earth are idiots everywhere enamored with this monumentally stupid idea? Absurdly, this whole wall thing, from the beginning, has brought that awful movie Pacific Rim to mind. Now, that flick was fun in the popcorn sense, but I about lost it when it spent all this time on people building this monumentally stupid wall, against massive, super-powerful critters, who of course, wiped out years of time and money wasted in no time at all. As soon as they showed people building that wall, I yelled “what the fuck are doing that for?” Anyone with sense could have said “that won’t work”. Well, this monumentally stupid wall won’t work either.

Full story here.

Coping With Cops.

Young Rita Waln led a procession of women and children who shook hands with officers at the ND Capitol after they held a demonstration to deny charges that weapons or pipe bombs were at the Lakota encampments along the Missouri River. About 200 water protectors took their message of peace to the governor that they are unarmed and peaceful.

Young Rita Waln led a procession of women and children who shook hands with officers at the ND Capitol.

Throughout the peaceful protest that water protectors are waging against the Dakota Access pipeline near the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, rumors have swirled about potential threats to public safety—rumors that have been refuted by numerous images and accounts of what is actually happening.

It started with claims on August 17 by Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier that those standing against the pipeline were compromising safety and continued this past weekend, when North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple went so far as to declare a state of emergency across several counties in order to free up federal funds.

“They were preparing to throw pipe bombs at our line, M80s, fireworks, things of that nature, to disrupt us,” Kirchmeier told reporters. “And that in itself makes it an unlawful protest.”

Though Dalrymple stopped short of activating the National Guard, he issued an executive order implying that public safety was at risk.

[…]

With a gathering that has swelled to more than 3,000 people and counting, friction and conflict might not be out of the realm of possibility. But the opposite is in fact the case: accounts and pictures abound of police officers taking off their hats in respect for the daily morning prayers being conducted at the construction site; police shaking hands with a little girl; officers being smudged.

Here are six images of how the dynamics are really playing out on the ground, including one issued by the Bismarck Police Department itself.

Following two days of arresting protestors trying to stop an oil pipeline on Treaty lands, officers joined in morning prayers. As officers learned more about the Tribe's efforts to protect the Missouri River from oil leaks and contamination, many expressed personal support for clean water. (Photo: Courtesy No Dakota Access Pipeline).

Following two days of arresting protestors trying to stop an oil pipeline on Treaty lands, officers joined in morning prayers. As officers learned more about the Tribe’s efforts to protect the Missouri River from oil leaks and contamination, many expressed personal support for clean water. (Photo: Courtesy No Dakota Access Pipeline).

 

Officers removed their hats out of respect as a Lakota prayer song is sung as part of morning prayers at the site where construction was halted by water protectors. (Photo: Courtesy No Dakota Access Pipeline).

Officers removed their hats out of respect as a Lakota prayer song is sung as part of morning prayers at the site where construction was halted by water protectors. (Photo: Courtesy No Dakota Access Pipeline).

 

On day three, after realizing the water protectors are peacefully trying to protect their water from a Texas-based oil company, many officers chose to show respect for morning prayer songs and those who offered to smudge them. (Photo: Courtesy No Dakota Access Pipeline).

On day three, after realizing the water protectors are peacefully trying to protect their water from a Texas-based oil company, many officers chose to show respect for morning prayer songs and those who offered to smudge them. (Photo: Courtesy No Dakota Access Pipeline).

 

We Are Unarmed: After Morton Country Sheriff Kirchmeier said his agency received reports of pipe bombs and threats, Lakota women and children pushed back on those allegations with messages from elders, youth and women. (Photo: Courtesy Indigenous Environmental Network).

We Are Unarmed: After Morton Country Sheriff Kirchmeier said his agency received reports of pipe bombs and threats, Lakota women and children pushed back on those allegations with messages from elders, youth and women. (Photo: Courtesy Indigenous Environmental Network).

 

The Bismarck Police Department itself posted its own photo on Facebook after the same event, with this caption: “Demonstrators shaking hands with officers as event ends. No incidents and peaceful throughout. Thank you to all!” (Photo: Bismarck Police Department/Facebook).

The Bismarck Police Department itself posted its own photo on Facebook after the same event, with this caption: “Demonstrators shaking hands with officers as event ends. No incidents and peaceful throughout. Thank you to all!” (Photo: Bismarck Police Department/Facebook).

Full article at ICTMN.

34.

Although Dwight D. Eisenhower did not play a direct role in implementing Indian termination policies, he agreed in principle with the goals of termination.


Although Dwight D. Eisenhower did not play a direct role in implementing Indian termination policies, he agreed in principle with the goals of termination.

Dwight David Eisenhower was a 22-year-old linebacker for West Point when he skirmished with Jim Thorpe during a 1912 football game against Carlisle Indian Industrial School.

Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, was already famous, having won several Olympic gold medals and called the greatest athlete in the world by the king of Sweden. The November 1912 football game pitted the Army school against American Indians in a competition reminiscent of historic rivalries.

Eisenhower took the skirmish personally, Lars Anderson wrote in his 2007 book Carlisle vs. Army. Ever since he learned that the flagship Indian school’s football team would be playing at West Point, Eisenhower and his teammates made plans to stop Thorpe.

“A cadet would become famous, the Army players believed, if he knocked Thorpe out of the game with a hit so powerful it kidnapped Thorpe from consciousness,” Anderson wrote. Eisenhower, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed athlete, had been looking forward to the game for months and “fully expected to be the chosen one—the player who was going to deliver the knockout blow that would send Thorpe out of the game and into a hospital bed.”

The hit came early in the game. Eisenhower and another linebacker teamed up against Thorpe, throwing themselves as hard as they could at Carlisle’s most valuable player. Thorpe fumbled then writhed on the ground in pain, clutching his shoulder as Eisenhower celebrated.

But Thorpe recovered, and in a subsequent play he sidestepped when Eisenhower and a teammate again charged at him. The two linebackers collided violently and were removed from the game. Carlisle won, 27-6.

As President of the United States more than four decades later, Eisenhower took a similar stance toward Natives. During his tenure in office, Congress enacted three assimilation programs that dramatically changed the federal government’s relationships with Indians: terminating tribal sovereignty, relocating Indians to urban areas and transferring federal law enforcement jurisdiction on Indian reservations to the states.

[Read more…]

Fucking Assholes.

Hateful fucking bigots. *spits* Oh, and the military is flying copters over the camps. Armed helicopters. *spits again*