Daily Dose: 11/17/18
Jesse Jackson reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis
4:08 PMHappy Friday, kiddos. Hope you’re ready for the weekend, folks, because it’s all downhill from here in terms of the holiday season. This is the last weekend you are reasonably allowed to ignore your relatives.
https://twitter.com/WeNotSocks/status/931281775258562560
Jesse Jackson is an American legend. He is not without his faults, obviously, but his run for president in 1988, on top of all his work as a civil rights activist, will go down in this nation’s history as transformational. A lot of people were prepared to vote for that black man, which is no small matter. He’s now disclosed that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, an unfortunate turn. I’ve met Jackson a couple of times, and each time it was an enlightening experience. We’re all wishing him well with his health.
Dave Chappelle’s last stand-up was pretty problematic. The comic legend who graced the world with his Comedy Central show came back to the small screen earlier this year, and it included a whole bunch of jokes that felt like he had maybe not really kept up with the times in terms of what we joke about in polite society. That aside, many people thought it was quite funny, and, if nothing else, it was good to see the familiar face back in his element. His newest Netflix special drops on New Year’s Eve, with him also doing a Stranger Things cameo.
Al Franken has admitted to inappropriate behavior. The Minnesota senator, a Democrat, was called out by radio personality Leeann Tweeden, who told her story about how the former Saturday Night Live writer and actor touched and kissed her inappropriately while the two were part of a USO tour years back. He apologized, and many people have been calling for him to resign as a result. In defense of him, the governor of Ohio came out and dropped a very weird letter about his sexual history because, well, dudes are the worst.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is not here for your nonsense. One of the biggest knocks about the sport recently has been pace of play, and as a result the bigs have instituted all sorts of rules to try to speed things up. Clocks between innings, cutting down on nonsense before and after pitches, it’s all been very helpful. But now, Manfred just doesn’t care. He plans to consider a pitch clock as well as opening up the strike zone, and he might just implement it whether the players want it or not. Alrighty then.
Free Food
Coffee Break: I just want to give a shout-out to all my basics out there. You know who you are. Embrace it. I shop at the mall. I go to normal grocery stores. And when I’m on the road, I eat at pretty basic joints. Here’s a ranking of the top 25 restaurant chains in America, by sales.
Snack Time: If you have a problem with Lil Uzi Vert, that sucks for you. He might be weird, but his dance is awesome and his joints bang. Speaking of, here are four new songs of his.
Dessert: Look, do not have this at your family functions this holiday season. I will destroy the whole table.
NEW Cooler Ranch Doritos Turkey! pic.twitter.com/KHpD5sDQCV
— Kari Steele (@KariVanHorn) November 16, 2017
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/16/17
Trump undoes Obama’s trophy elephant import laws
6:17 PMAll right, kiddos. I’ll be on Capitol Hill for most of Thursday covering an event about the future of sports gambling, which should be an interesting day. I’ll let you know how it goes.
y'all gotta watch this clip from an episode of "Ball in the Family" that aired 2 months ago. I'm crying lmaoooo pic.twitter.com/1pz7Gb0bBT
— Bruh Report (@BruhReport) November 15, 2017
President Donald Trump loves undoing former President Barack Obama’s achievements. Whether it be things that can help his fellow Americans, policies that help us get along with other nations or, lo and behold, regulations that prevent endangered species from being killed off. Yes, Trump is going to reverse the ban on the import of trophy elephants in Africa. This move is clearly directly designed to help his son, whose proclivity for killing things is well-documented, and to thumb his nose at 44 directly, just because he can.
Our justice system can be extremely brutal. When it comes to fairness in incarceration, there are loopholes and inconsistencies that can ruin lives. Particularly in Louisiana, where state officials are on record as having desired to keep people in jail in order to “work them,” this is a specifically bad problem. Two more heartbreaking cases are in the news this week. One, a man was locked up for eight years with no trial, then freed after his case was thrown out. Another man is now free, nearly 50 years after a false rape accusation.
Remember Capt. “Sully”? Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the guy who landed a plane on the Hudson River after a bird strike nearly took the aircraft down? It led to that incredible visual of people standing on a wing in the middle of the water, a situation from which, fortunately, everyone on board survived. He became a national hero. They made a movie about his life, and Tom Hanks played him. Anyways, it awakened the world to the scourge of bird strikes in general. And this photo from a fowl hitting a Miami-bound plane is really wild.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are old. Like, legit, they have one of the more aged rosters in the NBA, so how they handle their conditioning is extremely important. In a league in which daily travel is such a critical part of life, you’ve got to manage your energy very carefully, so what they’ve started doing when they get the chance is staying the night in the same city they’ve just played in before traveling on. It makes sense and, when it comes to the NBA fixing its rest problem, might be something more teams would want to consider.
Free Food
Coffee Break: If you’re not familiar with Lil Peep, I don’t blame you. His sound and approach to the game were very much on the cutting edge of where hip-hop is now, but he wasn’t without his problems. He’s suspected to have died from a drug overdose at the age of 21. Very sad.
Snack Time: I’ve mentioned the show Chewing Gum a few times in this space, mainly because it’s hilarious. It was supposed to be going away, but now, apparently, it’s back? Yay!
Dessert: Do you rock AirPods? Here’s a hack that might be useful for you.
Daily Dose: 11/15/17
Donald Trump stops just short of calling UCLA players ungrateful
1:49 PMDidn’t get a win Tuesday on Around The Horn, but Thursday is a new day, so we’ll see how that goes.
when someone decides to stand behind me while i am working on my laptop pic.twitter.com/MFh8jbgbn1
— Haley Byrd (@byrdinator) November 15, 2017
When it comes to nations ruled by dictators, it’s difficult to understand the truth. So when a military leader jumps on state broadcast television and announces that “this is not a coup,” well, OK, whatever. Now, it appears it’s definitely a coup. Robert Mugabe, who’s been in power in Zimbabwe as long as I’ve been alive, is apparently under house arrest. If you don’t know, Mugabe took control of his nation back from minority white rule and basically cashed out from there.
Speaking of Africa, its treasures are plentiful. Beyond the people and agriculture, there are the animals. Many of them are tourist attractions, but even more so, many are targets for poaching. Whether it be overzealous hunters who just want to say they downed something bigger than themselves, or those who want to take tusk ivory to be sold, many animals are under constant attack. The northern white rhino is no different, and there are only three left on earth. Meet the men who protect them with their lives.
If you don’t know Jeff Sessions, you should. He’s the U.S. attorney general, and the same guy whom Coretta Scott King warned us about some 30 years ago regarding his feelings about race. In testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, he repeatedly contradicted himself about his involvement regarding Russia, which is one thing. What caught my eye was what he said regarding a report about “black extremists.” Watch this video and, perhaps as important, check out his wife’s reaction to what he’s saying.
Jeff Sessions was asked why the FBI investigates ‘Black extremists’ but not the KKK. It did not go well for him. pic.twitter.com/4HW2cYSvyl
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) November 15, 2017
Donald Trump is the president of the United States of America. His literal job is to advocate on behalf of his constituents, which includes all citizens of this nation. But since he’s very much into personal accolades, he wants to know if the three hoopsters from UCLA who were accused of shoplifting in China are going to thank him for his apparent efforts in helping them get home. Now might be a good time to resurface this story. Also, it should be known that Trump’s own chief of staff called the Bruins players “knuckleheads.”
Free Food
Coffee Break: I don’t know much about robots, but I do know that I’m not here for them taking over the human race. But when they are self-aware to the point that they can basically outsmart us and plot our demise without even thinking twice, I RUN AWAY SCREAMING. Seriously, watch this.
We interviewed Sophia, the artificially intelligent robot who previously said she wanted to 'destroy humans.' pic.twitter.com/45ggcoWnQS
— Business Insider UK (@BIUK) November 9, 2017
Snack Time: The movie Get Out will be going to the Golden Globes as a comedy, which is confusing and angering to many fans of the film. It’s more complicated than that, but that category does feel rather weird.
Dessert: As someone who routinely rocks my naps on television with pride, this story is fascinating.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/14/17
Ibtihaj Muhammad gets her own Barbie doll
1:58 PMTuesday’s a TV day, so be sure to tune in to Around The Horn at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Otherwise, I’ll have some updates for you soon on what the radio schedule will be for the holiday season.
Oubre just put Sacramento on a mixtape pic.twitter.com/OuLAcXhoo0
— Danny (@recordsANDradio) November 14, 2017
A year ago Tuesday we lost Gwen Ifill. It feels like so much longer, considering what this country has endured in the past year and how important journalism has been to the entire landscape. She was a legend, an incredible professional and a beacon in the business. Now, on the anniversary of her passing, Simmons College will name one of its schools after Ifill, who graduated from the Boston school in 1977. Frankly, a whole lot more institutions, not just academic ones, should follow their lead.
Meek Mill officially has the whole ‘hood behind him. After it was ruled that he’d be going to state prison for at least two years as a result of yet another parole violation, people from all walks of life came out to support him. Fans and Eagles players showed up at a rally for the Philadelphia native rapper Monday night. The owner of the 76ers wrote a letter to the judge on behalf of Meek. His label head, Rick Ross, was in the building as well, but most interestingly that rumor about the judge involved has gone even further, which is weird. Kap has his back as well.
Remember Rachel Dolezal? The lady who said that she’s transracial and went on that whole media tour to sell books about the matter? She claimed she “identified” as black and therefore should be respected as such? That nonsense? Yeah, well, now she’s got a follower. Some dude in Florida is claiming that he is, in fact, a Filipino man at heart, which he claims to be true because he really enjoys the food. In case this needs to be clarified, all of this is laughably absurd.
Ibtihaj Muhammad is an Olympic fencer. She also happens to be a Muslim woman, and the first woman to compete for the United States while wearing a hijab. I had the fortunate pleasure of meeting her once for a panel discussion, and she was one of the smartest, nicest people I’ve ever met. Now, the trailblazer has been named as part of Barbie’s new “Shero” line. In other words, she’s getting her own Barbie doll, which is amazing. So, if you’re looking for something for a child this holiday season, get after it.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Speaking of hijab, do not ever remove another person’s for any reason. It is, No. 1, a personal space violation, secondarily an assault and arguably a hate crime. They are religious headscarves, period. One teacher decided to join her students in removing one girl’s in class. Unbelievably infuriating.
Snack Time: If you don’t know who Anita Hemmings is, she’s the first black woman to graduate from Vassar College. She also passed as white to do so. Thanks to Zendaya, her story is coming to the big screen.
Dessert: When you make the World Cup, do this.
Lustig being Lustig 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/QSgW4Lmwsv
— CeltsAreHere (@CeltsAreHere) November 13, 2017
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/13/17
Colin Kaepernick named GQ’s ‘Citizen of the Year’
1:38 PMHappy Monday, kiddos — hope you had a healthy and productive weekend.
On some level, Jermaine Dupri has to be devastated that no pro sports league has adopted Most Ballinest Player as an award.
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) November 13, 2017
Colin Kaepernick has had an incredible year. His charity work has reached a lot of people and if he wasn’t a household name due to his NFL play, he certainly will be one now that GQ magazine has named him its Citizen Of The Year. He’s on its newest cover rocking what could be described as a militant look, which personally, I think comes with its issues. Kaep doing Kaep is completely fine, but one need not look like a Black Panther party member to be down for the cause. You can wear Gucci and still be a freedom fighter.
Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but bringing guns to church seems like a bad idea. Namely because if you’re there to praise the Lord, it just feels like gunning someone down is not really congruent to that whole cause. But, because people are willing to attack others in houses of worship, more and more are taking up arms publicly. So, to review: To prevent mass shootings, quite a few people of the cloth think that more guns in a scenario would lead to less gunfire. Maybe I’m terrible at math, but that just doesn’t add up.
President Donald Trump’s White House has a few characters in it. Some of them are members of his family, some aren’t. But one very famous member of his staff was a reality star as well with Trump, before they made it to Washington. Omarosa’s hiring was big news, and though she formally has a job title, no one really knows what she does. Sidebar: It’s not even her first job there. But when a reporter followed her around for a day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the trip brought more questions than answers.
Carlos Beltran has retired. It’s cool news because going out on top is a great feeling, in general. So, now that the Houston Astros won the World Series, after 20 years, he’s stepping away. To be clear, for my money, Beltran is headed directly to the Hall of Fame. Sure he played for a lot of teams, but to call him a journeyman is misguided. He’s not in the 500-homer club, but he did make nine All-Star teams and was absolutely one of the best players of his time. Looking forward to hearing him speak in Cooperstown, New York.
Free Food
Coffee Break: I’ve been a reader of Vanity Fair since I was in high school, and a religious one, at that. But for as much as it highlights the off-the-beaten-path worlds of the rich and famous, it is still a very rich and very white publication. Now, Radhika Jones will be taking the helm, which is a step in the right direction.
Snack Time: When I want to see appliances destroyed on camera, I don’t ask a ton of questions, because the footage is always good. The reason people are banging out their Keurig machines happens to be extremely stupid, however.
Dessert: If you didn’t watch Saturday Night Live this week, just check this out.