Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Quick Hits: Volume CCXXIII

- It's official. The Washington Redskins nickname was retired as of this past Monday morning.




Did you happen to notice who the first group of people mentioned to keep "apprised" of the team's thinking? Yep. The sponsors.

Make no mistake, this change wasn't any virtuous action in the midst of our "ever evolving society" or due to honoring the wishes of the Native American community (who, as of four years ago, overwhelmingly stated they weren't offended by the name Redskins anyhow). This was about big business (i.e. FedEx and Nike) threatening to disassociate themselves from the team.

This was reminiscent of my Vikings club in September 2014 when they backtracked on allowing Adrian Peterson to play the week after it was revealed he physically abused one of his kids. The Vikings relented once Radisson Hotels threatened to pull their financial support, so AP was placed on the Commissioners exempt list for the final 14 games of that season.

Regardless of the obvious rationale for the name change, virtue signaling progs will still claim victory.


- Just gonna leave this here:




-  A surprise development in Minnesota's Fifth Congressional District.

Millions of dollars are pouring into the primary race for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District, where opposition to Minneapolis U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar is fueling an unprecedented surge in donations to her top Democratic opponent, political newcomer Antone Melton-Meaux.

Melton-Meaux, a mediation lawyer who emerged on the DFL scene late last year to challenge Omar, told the Star Tribune he raised a staggering $3.2 million between April and the end of June, with $2 million cash left in the bank before the Aug. 11 primary. He dramatically outraised Omar, who took in $471,624 during the same time period. Omar’s campaign said she has $1,111,861 left on hand ahead of the primary election.

The fundraising gap would be striking for any newcomer challenging an incumbent, but it’s especially notable in a race against Omar, a freshman Democrat and member of “the Squad” who has risen to prominence as one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar herself is a prolific fundraiser, fueled in part by her national profile and her unabashed criticism of President Donald Trump.

In a D+22 district, the DFL primary is essentially the general election, so this is a huge deal.

I don't pretend to have my finger on the pulse of what is happening in CD5, but I can't help but wonder if the constituents have grown tired of Omar's perpetual shenanigans. After all, there are plenty of progressives who can chalk up the same voting record as Omar, sans the outlandishness. Omar's predecessor, Keith Ellison, was just as radical but didn't actively seek the spotlight. As such, he never lost a reelection contest by less than 36%.

This'll be worth watching.

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