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The Democrats had pinned a lot of hopes on the special election in Georgias sixth congressional district. The seat, which was held by now Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, has been reliably Republican for years; it was the seat that Newt Gingrich held when he was in Congress. But Democrats thought that the high number of college-educated voters in the district made it ripe for capitalizing on uneasiness about President Trump.

Of course, that was wrong. But there was an ample sign that the district was never going to flip for a socially liberal candidate. And thats the districts history.

The districts encompasses the northern suburbs of Atlanta, including a chunk of Cobb County. In the early 1990s, Cobb County was one of the chief battlegrounds of the culture war. In 1993, the County Commissioners passed a resolution to openly and vigorously supports the current community standards and established state laws regarding gay lifestyles. The vote was greeted by Amens from the audience, and a pastor held a sign outside of the commission chambers that read Praise God for AIDS.

The vote resulted in a national controversy, but it was hardly a surprise. A portion of the interstate running through the county is named for a former John Birch Society leader. In the 1980s, the town of Kennesaw passed a resolution requiring all residents to own a gun. Even as the country expanded as Atlanta itself grew, the county maintained a distinctively conservative flavor.

The impact of the Cobb County resolution was more than symbolic, much to the countys detriment. As a sign of disapproval, the Olympic torch bypassed Cobb County on its way to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and the Olympic volleyball game was moved to a different venue.

Eventaully the county moved on to other issues, but it has never entirely rid itself of its homophobic past. The county commissioner race in 2012 replayed the issue, as one of the pro-resolution commissioners sought to return to office. (The former commissioner, Bill Byrne, said he regretted his vote, because he has a lesbian daughter. He lost anyway.) A state legislator from Cobb introduced a religious liberty bill last year that would have repealed conflicting laws, otherwise known as nondiscrimination protections.

In short, a good chunk of the sixth congressional district was never going to be fertile territory for a Democrat like Jon Ossoff. Moreover, Republicans did their best to tar Ossoff as a rabid liberal, tying him to Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco values.San Francisco loves them some Jon Ossoff, a man in one ad intoned.

Most of the media played these ads as tarnishing Ossoffs carefully cultivated moderate image. But the ads were also a dog whistle. For religious conservatives, San Francisco is synomous with all things gay. San Francisco has long been used by the religious right as shorthand for a modern-day Sodom, and we all know who put the sodomy in Sodom.

So utlimately, Ossoff was probably fighting a losing battle all along. (He wasnt an ideal candidate, but the winner, Karen Handel, was pretty inept herself.) Democrats will debate for months to come whether a different platform and different candidate could have convinced more voters to turn out. But the lesson of the election may be something entirely different: the culture wars are lingering, and they are still defining our political landscape.

Excerpt from:
The special election in Georgia shows that the culture warsand homophobiaaren't over yet - Queerty

The Rev. Al Sharpton via Instagram screenshot

Listen, if youre not following the Rev. Al Sharpton on social media, what are you doing with your life? Lately, the civil rights leader has been posting selfies like the one above, and while he thinks its just a harmless promotion of a healthy lifestyle, the internet, namely black Twitter, thought it was hilarious meme material.

The Rev said, I want yall to catch this entire fit!

The selfies not only became a topic of discussion in The Roots office, but rapper Nelly wanted to know who Sharpton was sending these images to, and jokingly suggested the legendary actress Cicely Tyson. So we got a bit of the Revs time and asked him why hes posting these questionable selfies, is he indeed sending them to Tyson, why he thinks were all so concerned with his photos and so much more.

The entire conversation was lighthearted and hilarious, and we basically found out that Sharpton has no plans to stop snapping selfies; he even wants to use the influx of attention to focus on education. Sharpton told The Root: I want to contribute not only to exercise but to study. I study a lot. I read a lot. Im going to be sharing on Instagram my reading materialsa lot of books people ought to be reading that theyre not.

He continued: You take life seriously. I do a lot of morning meditations and reflections and prayer. Im going to start putting all of thatsince people are so interested in what I am doing, Im going to do more!

Check out the full chat with Sharpton here:

The Root: Did you know people were going to care this much about your gym selfies?

Al Sharpton: No. I had no idea. Ive been posting for a while. Ive got, like, on Twitter, 530,000 followers, and on Instagram, like, 65,000, so, I mean, I talk to a lot of people. A lot of the stuff that people are retweeting were done weeks and months ago.

But it seemed to have caught on this weekend when I did the Fathers Day posting. People went through the back history of stuff. What happened was, Im up on Fathers Day and I said, Let me show everybody Im healthy. Im going to the gym and Im going to do PoliticsNation live, and then I do a syndicated radio show liveI have a radio studio there in 30 Rockand then I preach twice. I want to let them know that at 62, I can do that kind of tough schedule on Fathers Day.

I got up, I took the selfie and I went out of the gym and went on to 30 Rock, went to do my television show and radio show live, and then headed to Newark[, N.J.,] to preach twicethe mayor of Newark was there, the whole thing. I never thought anything about it. The next day, I wake up, its viral. [Laughs.]

Frankly, I thought a couple of posts Ive done in the pastI did a thing one time in the studio where I showed I can still do the James BrownI thought that was more viral than somebody wearing their workout stuff. I dont know if was a slow media day or what!

TR: How does it make you feel, knowing people are so concerned?

AS: I think that its flattering at one level. It shows how society has too much time on their hands. Who should care what Im doing? I dont know many other civil rights leaders or even talk show hosts that they would even care about, but I guess thats the flattery part.

The other thing about me saying they have too much time, I mean, are we really talking about [how] somebody going to work out is funny? It reminds me of last Thursday night: I went to join Michelle Obama, our first ladyor former first lady, I guess Im supposed to say. She spoke at the Toigo [Foundation Annual] Gala. We were chatting backstage, and she said that weve become such a poison atmosphere that its controversial that she was really recommending healthy food for kids. Can you imagine that being controversial?

Thats how I felt! Is it really funny that you got a guy in his 60s telling people we ought to be healthy? Thats funny?

TR: Do you run your own social media?

AS: I am my manager. What would disappoint my trolls is that I dont read a lot of the responses. But I post and do most of all my social media. Unless Im hacked. If its in Russian, it wasnt from me. [Laughs.]

TR: Nelly said something about the selfies and said we need to boycott Instagram until we find out whos leaking your pictures.

AS: [Laughs.] Tell Nelly I support that. I dont know whos getting the old pictures. They dont know what theyre talking about because they been up there for months.

TR: He also said, who are you sending them to, Cicely Tyson?

AS: I dont know what hes talking about. They would be surprised if Cicely also has Instagram and social media. In fact, shes on mine. Me and her took a picture together not too long ago.

TR: We saw a video of you doing pushups against your desk. Can you explain why you decided to share that video? Because it looked like you were about to struggle through a one-armed pushup

AS: What happened was, one of the people in my PoliticsNation staff said to me, You work out every morning? This was way before I did the workout post. And I said, Yeah, I work out every morning. They said, You actually stay in shape? And I said, I can show you!

I started doing pushups, and then I started to do the one, and I said, No, I better not do that; I dont know how far I can do that. And then they were taping that. I didnt want to try something I didnt know if I could complete. I can do one-armed in the gym, but only about five to 10.

TR: Whats your diet regimen?

AS: I dont eat any meat. I eat fish twice a weekSaturdays and Sundays. Other than that, all I eat is one large salad a day. I drink tea. I drink a fruit juice, freshly squeezed, that I get from Juice Press, and thats it. I have one meal a day. Ive lost 181 pounds, and Ive maintained that. I work out about a half hour every morning. I do some weights. I press about half my weight, about 70 pounds, and I will do the elliptical stair-stepper for about 20 minutes while I watch the morning news. Thats research for me.

I have to be in shape! Im not a guy that just does one thing. Most people my age are getting ready to retire. I need to work out; otherwise Id be a nervous wreck.

TR: So youre saying, Get like me?

AS: [Laughs.] Im inspired by another New Yorker older than me who stays up all night. I stay up all morning into the night. I am fighting in every way against himthats Donald Trump.

I am saying get like me. Im saying I started preaching as a little boy. I started early and Im healthy late in life. Ive defied both ends of the age spectrum, and I told TMZ that if Donald Trump, who is nine or 10 years older than me, can tweet in the middle of the night, I can selfie early in the morning. At least mine will be spelled correctly.

TR: What do you say to the people out there who tried to drag you on social media about your posts?

AS: I would say, thank you for your attention. Thank you for contributing to getting up my social media numbers, and you might have too much time on your hands managing my life, not managing your own. May you be as energetic and productive as I am at 62 years old.

See original here:
Al Sharpton Explains Why His Thirst-Trap Selfies Might Steal Your ... - The Root

Rev. Al Sharpton has been taking a lot of selfies lately.

On Fathers Day, the 62-year-old posted a pre-gym selfie in front of a mirror at the most MySpace angle ever. The photo made its rounds on the web and folks let the jokes fly.

Since that fateful day, even more Sharpton selfies have gone viral, prompting people to wonder... what the hell is going on here?

A video of Sharpton doing push-ups and almost attempting to do a one-arm push up against the desk in his office gained a lot of shares and retweets.

On Tuesday, Nelly called for an Instagram boycott until we find out who in the hell is leaking Al Sharpton pictures.

Well Al wants everyone to know he can do bad all by himself.

On National Selfie Day, TMZ asked Sharpton about his photos and the MSNBC host playfully told the internet to stop hating.

I live in the Trump era, Sharpton said. If he can tweet at night, I can selfie before I go to the gym in the morning and dont be jealous because Im so fit at 62 years old.

He added that hes using his photos to promote a healthy lifestyle.

I work out, he said. I was showing people you work out, you take your health seriously. I think its a good thing. Im gonna keep doing it.

Watch Sharptons interview with TMZ in the clip below.

The rest is here:
Al Sharpton Defends His Selfies: 'Don't Be Jealous Because I'm So ... - HuffPost

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Reverend Al Sharpton was in Greenville Monday night speaking alongside other local civil rights leaders and activists at the Phillipi Church of Christ, demanding the release of Dontae Sharpe from prison.

Sharpe was imprisoned back in 1995 on a murder charge, but has always maintained his innocence, even denying plea deals that would have set him free years ago.

Now some two decades later, groups including the North Carolina and National NAACP are calling for an independent investigation in the case and demanding Sharpe be set free immediately.

That cause is what brought Al Sharpton to the forefront of this battle.

"When they laid out the case to me, I was compelled to come and that's when I said to Reverend Barber, 'I will absolutely come because this is as bad as it gets,'" Sharpton says.

During the event, Sharpton and Barber both donated more than $1,000 each to Sharpe's family and encouraged others to give in a donation from the public.

Read more here:
Rev. Al Sharpton in Greenville, pleas for Dontae Sharpe's release - WITN

Local News

Jun 24, 2017

Casey Rae Friedlander walks in during the Processional to the music "Pomp and Circumstance" during the commencement at the Broadalbin-Perth High School in Broadalbin on Friday. (The Leader-Herald/Bill Trojan)

BROADALBIN Top Broadalbin-Perth High School class of 2017 student Julie Capito, interested in studying environmental science in college, on Friday compared this areas beauty to the path ahead for her classmates.

We have been privileged to grow up in an area surrounded by wilderness, so as we transition to the next phase of our lives, let us not forget the lessons of nature: the wisdom of being impactful, resilient people, Capito told the commencement gathering.

A total of 129 B-PCS graduates dressed in blue and red received diplomas in the gym.

Sometimes you may think your actions dont matter or no one cares what you do, but that is not true, Capito said.

She quoted environmentalist Rachel Carson: In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand, is the story of the Earth.

Julie Capito speaks during the commencement at the Broadalbin-Perth High School in Broadalbin on Friday. (The Leader-Herald/Bill Trojan)

Capito said, Your daily choices, whether its the type of shampoo you wash your hair with or the food you eat and the behaviors you portray such as smiling at someone or deciding not to recycle, are significant. Every breath you take, every step you make leaves its mark. As you journey throughout life, what type of impact do you want your life to hold? This is one of the questions I ask of you and myself tonight.

The class second-ranked student Christina Lin thanked parents, administrators and faculty.

She said of the Broadalbin-Perth teachers, Youve all impacted us in ways too many to list out in this speech. You have been shoulders to cry on, fantastic mentors, and some of the most dedicated members of our community. Thank you for giving us your heart and soul, because without it, none of us would be sitting here today.

Lins address went on to chronicle social media today, noting it is an age where its possible for us to have Pepe the Frog and Dat Boy rolling across our Twitter feeds alongside the nations turmoil.

Break the rules, she said. The greatest discoveries in life cant be found if youre restricting yourself. Think for yourself. Never let anyone, no matter how respected or how powerful, tell you how to live or what to believe in. Make educated decisions. Be yourself and care about others.

Jake Cope speaks during the commencement at Broadalbin-Perth High School in Broadalbin on Friday. (The Leader-Herald/Bill Trojan)

Jake Cope, third in his class, told the graduates they would move on to something greater after Friday.

At first, it may seem a bit scary, taking our first steps out of Broadalbin-Perth and into the open world, but we are not the first to do so, he said. Many graduates before us have been in our exact position anxiously wondering if they themselves will succeed in the future. Those people have the answers to our challenges.

Cope said his mentor throughout high school was William Eipp, who teaches many of the upper-level math and technology-related classes.

I am planning on studying computer science this fall, and Mr. Eipp has encouraged me all along the way, he said. From letting me audit an introductory programming class during my junior year to recommending me for an internship this summer in a computer science field, he has played a key role in the early development of my career.

High School Principal Mark Brooks told the students, Were here to celebrate one of the greatest group of students Ive gotten to know the last two years.

Isabella Bianca Magliocca, left, and Ryan Zajaceskowski take a selfie together in the lunch room prior to the commencement at the Broadalbin-Perth High School in Broadalbin on Friday. (The Leader-Herald/Bill Trojan)

He said the class of 2017 was the 30th graduating class of the Broadalbin-Perth merger. He said the class earned 1,367 college credits. He said 77 of the students earned enough credits for an entire semester of college. He talked about the various academic, athletic and extracurricular achievements of the class.

These are the things that make Broadalbin-Perth special, Brooks said. And thats only scratching the surface.

Other speakers included Board of Education President Edward Szumowski. He told the graduates that to be happy, they should be honest and trustworthy, hardworking and persistent.

Superintendent Stephen Tomlinson urged the graduating seniors to be humble and kind after they leave their public school system. He congratulated students and their parents, informing the students: Its time We are letting you go.

Music during commencement was provided by the Broadalbin-Concert Band and High School Choir.

Nicholas M. Eglin receives a handshake and his diploma from Superintendent Stephen Tomlinson, at left, as President of the Board of Education Edward Szumowski, at right looks on during the commencement at the Broadalbin-Perth High School in Broadalbin on Friday. (The Leader-Herald/Bill Trojan)

School Business Administrator Marco Zumbolo recognized the top 10 students.

Class of 2017 Co-Presidents Michelle Shlomovich and Alexandra Wagner presented a class gift a banner to be displayed at the school.

JOHNSTOWN The Common Council handled numerous property transactions Monday at City Hall. The council voted to ...

JOHNSTOWN Construction activity in the city is picking up as the weather is getting warmer, Fire Chief Bruce ...

FORT PLAIN The Village Board voted Tuesday to approve looking into the concept of dissolving the Fort Plain ...

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Grads' journey begins - Gloversville Leader-Herald