Bill McKibben in The New Yorker:

By now, we are used to Trump’s big-lie technique. Even by that standard, however, the claim that “we are working harder than many previous Administrations, maybe almost all of them,” on environmental protection will be believed by exactly no one for whom words have not yet lost their common-sense meaning. Trying to parse the nonsense of Trump’s speech sentence by sentence is silly, so concentrate instead on its underlying meaning: the oil companies clearly won a crucial battle with Trump’s election, postponing their moment of reckoning. (Less so the coal barons, whose decline was already too far advanced). But they clearly sense that they are losing the war, and more decisively than before.

Tim Herrera in The New York Times:

By agonizing over tiny improvements in our work — if they even are improvements — we prevent ourselves from achieving the actual goal of, you know, doing the work.

Sports Illustrated: “Unflappable. Unapologetic. Unequaled.”:

We’ll go there. Muhammad Ali is a singular figure in American life. But there are elements of a modern-day Ali in Rapinoe’s stance toward sports and social activism, to say nothing of her ability to turn the glare of publicity—much of it controversial—to her advantage. Who else would say with glee that she was looking forward to a “total s—tshow circus” in a World Cup quarterfinal and then make the most of it when it happened?

The New York Times: “U.S. Wins World Cup and Becomes a Champion for Its Time”:

Few sports teams are asked to carry so much meaning on their shoulders, to represent so many things to so many people, as the United States women’s soccer team. Few athletes are expected to lead on so many fronts at once, to be leaders for equal pay and gay rights and social justice, to serve as the face of both corporations and their customers. Fewer still have ever been so equipped to handle such a burden, so aware of themselves, so comfortable in their own skin, as those American women.

Moira Donegan in The Guardian: “USA’s formidable women’s soccer team is no accident. It’s a product of public policy”:

By demanding that schools provide opportunities for young girls to play sports and mandating that universities provide equal scholarship funding for women, title IX created opportunity and incentive for girls to play sports. Suddenly, not only were energetic, athletic girls given the same opportunities to play as the boys were, but they also had the opportunity for their sporting talent to fund their educations through scholarships.

Eentje om over na te denken, dit interview met Christophe Guilluy:

Al die plekken hebben één ding gemeen: er is weinig economische dynamiek. Als je erdoor rijdt, zie je vooral gesloten winkels. Het zijn de plekken “waar het niet gebeurt”. En de mensen die er wonen, zijn verdwenen van de radar van de politiek, de intelligentsia, de academici, de journalisten. Ze zijn haast onzichtbaar geworden. Bizar, want als je al die gebieden bij mekaar optelt, zie je dat ongeveer 60 procent van de Franse bevolking er leeft. Ze vormen een sokkel die in potentie over een politieke meerderheid beschikt.