SEE IT: College student offers to wear Christmas tree costume for rest of semester for 1,000 retweets, gets over 23,000
New York Daily News – Dec. 6
OMG Tannenbaum. A University of Alabama student is making good on her pledge after she challenged Twitter to share a photo of her dressed up like a Christmas tree.
Honey.Nine.com – Dec. 6
Civilized – Dec. 6
Yahoo! – Dec. 6
Inside Edition – Dec. 6
Shared – Dec. 6
The Sun (U.K.) – Dec. 6
Cosmopolitan – Dec. 6
Business Insider – Dec. 6
MSN – Dec. 6
CBS 19 (Cleveland) – Dec. 6
NBC 3 (Louisville, Kentucky) – Dec. 6
Donald Trump walks ‘a fine line’ in visits to Florida, Mississippi ahead of Alabama Senate election
Al.com – Dec. 6
In summer 2015, Donald Trump flew into Mobile for a stadium rallythat became an early and rollicking high water mark of his presidential campaign. In December 2016, after winning, he returned to Mobile to say, “Thank You.” …William Stewart, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama and a longtime political observer, said, “It looks like the president wants to get close, but not too close, to Moore.”
Why Is Doug Jones Throwing Around a Dog-Whistle Phrase Southern Sheriffs Once Used to Attack MLK?
Slate – Dec. 7
Ex-Trump adviser and white nationalist hype man Steve Bannon appeared at Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore’s rally in Alabama on Tuesday to make characteristically incendiary comments about “globalists” and whatnot, provoking this response from Moore’s Democratic opponent, Doug Jones: We don’t need an outside agitator like Steve Bannon carpetbagging in Alabama. It was an eyebrow-raising move: The phrase “outside agitator” has an inglorious history of being deployed by Southern segregationists to condemn civil rights activism. (“Carpetbagger” goes back even further.) I spoke to University of Alabama history professor Joshua Rothmanabout what Jones might have been thinking. Slate: What do you think Jones was going for by using this loaded phrase? Rothman: It struck me that he was using it at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek and sort of ironically. It’s a descriptor that historically has been applied by people on the reactionary side of politics to dismiss people who are not from a place coming in and stirring up trouble. So for someone like Steve Bannon, who has absolutely no connection to Alabama whatsoever, to come in a week before a big Senate election and start trouble—I think Jones was pulling that one out as a sort of turnabout-is-fair-play kind of thing.
Trump Stumps For Roy Moore, In Pensacola
WUWF – Dec. 6
President Donald Trump’s visit to Pensacola Friday night, to stump for an Alabama U.S. Senate candidate, is leaving some scratching their heads … William Stewart, Professor Emeritus in Political Science at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa, says it could be the city’s proximity to the state line, and also could be a way for Trump to keep Roy Moore at arm’s length.
Rock the South 2018 set for June 1-2, $10.1M local impact in 2017 | WATCH
Cullman Times – Dec. 6
As Rock the South prepares to return to Cullman June 1-2, the country music festival’s organizers hope to top 2017’s eye-popping $10.1 million local economic impact … An analysis of the 2017 festival shows Rock the South, or RTS, netted 121 new jobs and $10.1 million in sales, said Ahmad Ijaz, executive director and director of economic forecasting with the University of Alabama.
Parish roundup: Advent spirit; accompanying migrants; Deacon’s Table
National Catholic Reporter – Dec. 6
Catholic churches’ lack of blitz and bling during the Advent season is called countercultural and comforting … A University of Alabama study of the link between faith and health claims that persons with a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe have fewer stress-related health issues.