Florida Marlins Co-Owner Derek Jeter: It's OK if Marlins players want to take a knee

Derek Jeter wouldn’t say whether he would take a knee during the national anthem if he still were playing, but the Marlins’ new co-owner and future Hall of Famer wouldn’t have a problem if one of his players chose to protest social injustice and police brutality by doing so.

“Peaceful protest is fine,” the Miami CEO said Wednesday at the 21st annual Turn 2 Foundation Dinner at Cipriani on Wall Street. “You have a right to voice your opinion, as long as it’s a peaceful protest.”

As a player, Jeter rarely discussed social issues. But when asked his feelings about athletes taking a knee, which has become a major topic of discussion since former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee last year as a form of protest and has been followed by many other NFL players, he had no problem sharing his opinion. One MLB player, Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell, has taken a knee. Growing up biracial in Michigan, Jeter faced racism, and has said it shaped his life.

“The thing that I think is probably frustrating with this whole rhetoric that’s going back and forth is people lose sight of why someone was kneeling,” Jeter said. “They’re focused so much on the fact they are kneeling, as opposed to what they are kneeling for.

[SOURCE: NY POST]

U.S. Rep. Al Green, unveils articles of impeachment against Trump

U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat, introduced formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on the House floor Wednesday but there was little enthusiasm for the move even among Green's Democratic colleagues.

U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat, introduced formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on the House floor Wednesday, then abruptly stepped back from the measure later in the day.

In his argument for impeaching the president, Green read out several of Trump's tweets, arguing that his statements on several recent national controversies had “incited bigotry” against various minority groups, including African-Americans playing in the National Football League, transgender individuals serving in the military and Puerto Ricans recovering from a natural disaster. During his long-shot impeachment pitch, Green also criticized the president’s failure to condemn an August white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and called Trump out for claiming to have won the popular vote in November’s presidential election.

Just before the first round of afternoon votes, the presiding officer of the House floor called on Green to offer his resolution to move forward, but Green did not appear on the floor.

Green later told reporters that he wanted to allow more time for his colleagues to examine the legislation. But there was also active pressure put on the congressman to stop the effort, according to a half-dozen House Democratic sources.

Read more: U.S. Rep. Al Green, Houston Democrat, unveils articles of impeachment against Trump

Statement from the National African American Gun Association on Las Vegas shootings and gun laws

In light of the tragic shooting incident in Las Vegas in which 58 died, and over 500 were wounded I reached out to the National African American Gun Association for a statement. Phillip Smith,  president of the NAAGA, responded. While I don't agree with most of his response and much of it is what you would expect from a pro-gun organization, he did make some concessions as far as common sense gun laws that the NRA has not. Read his statement below. George L. Cook  III African American Reports.

To: George L. Cook III

Re: Las Vegas Shootings - Perspective

Hello George,

I want to say that first and foremost our Organization The National African American Gun Association would like to express our sorrow and deepest sympathy for the victims and families of the Las Vegas Shooting.
This is a tragic loss for everyone in the United States,  as Americans we all feel the pain from this......

When a Nation is hit with something like this it is easy and almost a natural reaction to point blame to a person, group, or Laws which might fill the void and provide some sort of rational answer...........we want to vent , scream, and talk about how this happened.........that is easy but it doesn't accomplish anything but becomes a divisive tool for certain organizations 
The first target of these conversations is almost always by default "Gun Laws" and how they need to be changed to take away people's rights to own Guns or severely limit them from the General public....typically the discussions range from taking Assault Rifles, enforcing background checks, improving Mental Health infrastructure, and changing the general public's taste for Guns

As in the case of the Las Vegas shooter he was a person who didn't have a previous record and was determined to
complete his mission.  Even the Las Vegas Police and Criminal Justice professionals have stated there was nothing Law Enforcement or the public could have done that would have prevented it.  He was an evil person acting as a "Lone Wolf" set out to do evil things to the public at a Concert.....

The Bigger question to me isn't what we should do next but what we shouldn't do as knee-jerk reaction

What we shouldn't do is start taking Gun Rights away from Law Abiding citizens like myself and millions of others in the United States.  You don't punish the good guys only to give Bad guys even more chances to kill folks because  Law Abiding Americans will now be totally defenseless.  Criminals and Mad Men are always going to find a way to have guns either Legally or Illegally that is a fact................ A good analogy is if you have a individual drunk driver kill several people on the highway and the  first reaction by the Government is to take everybody's car away in society because of the tragic event. That wouldn't seem logical or make sense,  nor does it seem rational to start taking guns away because of some evil person (s) action. 


You Can't legislate or force Morality upon the masses of the public......when you try do that you then become the next Dictator, Communist, or worse a Hypocrite. 
Do I believe in Practical and common sense laws when it comes to Gun Laws ........Yes I do...absolutely !

• No I don't think a person should have a "Bump Stock" because you basically have "Machine Gun" and that is too much 
• No  you can' have a gun if you are on the terror watch list
• No you can't have a gun if you beat your wife and kids and are considered a  serial Domestic Abuser.
• No if you have a violent Felony Record  you can't ever have a gun

We live in a Society where most of us are decent hard working Americans...but on occasion we will see someone lacking "Humanity for his fellow Man and wants to lash out and hurt as many individuals as they can....That is something that can't be corrected by any group of laws or local restrictions........unfortunately that is the nature of some people in society

Philip Smith

National President

National African American Gun Association

www.NAAGA.co

Cory Booker says he'll give donations from Harvey Weinstein to charity

Sen. Cory Booker's office said that the $7,800 he received in campaign contributions from movie producer Harvey Weinstein will be donated to a nonprofit group fighting sexual violence after The New York Times published allegations Weinstein harassed multiple women.

Booker's donation will go to the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, his office said. The coalition represents rape crisis centers in each of the state's 21 counties, and advocates for legislation centered on rape survivors.

Weinstein gave Booker three contributions of $2,600 each in October 2013, just days before he was elected to fill the unexpired term of the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg. As of June 30, Booker's campaign account had more than $2 million accumulated for his next election, in 2020.

The $7,800 Booker received was part of a $10,000 contribution he made to Booker Senate Victory, a joint committee between the Senate campaign and the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. The NJDSC got the other $2,200, and will be giving that away as well, said spokesman Matt Farrauto.

Other democrats such as NY Gov. Cuomo and Sens. Charles Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Sen. Patrick Leahy,are also getting rid of contributions from Weinstein.

[SOURCE: USATODAY]

National Hockey League player J.T. Brown raises fist during national anthem

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown raised his right fist during the playing of the national anthem before the team's first road game of the season.

Tampa Bay Lightning forward J.T. Brown says he isn't going to back down anytime soon, standing behind his decision to fund the relocation of a Confederate statue in Tampa and stay vocal when it comes to issues concerning minorities.

It is the first known demonstration of any kind during the anthem in an NHL regular-season game. The NHL has no rules governing what players must do during the national anthem.

Brown, who was scratched for Tampa Bay's season-opening win against Florida, remained standing throughout the anthem Saturday night. Brown, one of approximately 30 black players in the NHL, used the same protest before a preseason game against the Panthers last month.

"I wanted to do something to show my support," Brown told the Tampa Bay Times after the Lightning's 5-4 loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday. "There are some issues that we have to talk about. So, in my mind, just trying to bring a little more awareness, and any type of conversation that we can get started would be great. I know there's going to be negative backlash. But, in my heart, I know I did what was right."

The Lightning issued a statement later Saturday, saying, "The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate the moment before every game when we can unite as a community, paying homage to a flag that is representative of our nation and those who have sacrificed. At the same time, we respect our players and individual choices they may make on social and political issues."

[SOURCE: ESPN]