Planes, Trains, and Matches — Or the Iran War, 5% Treasuries, and Political Fireworks

I’ve been watching a developing situation in America that reminds me of a classic Calvin and Hobbes comic strip installment where Calvin plays a game and weaves together the story of a passenger jet’s engine randomly exploding at 35,000 feet in the air and a 50-car freight train loaded with 500,000 tons of metal jumping […]

Iran War: The Receipts Are Tiring

I’ve been silent about the Iran war for good reason … You haven’t seen much from this channel about the Iran war these days. Given all I’ve written about Iran for more than a decade — and much of what was predicted is playing out today — I asked myself “What can I say that […]

Deed Theft Steals Homes. Why Does Organized Retail Crime Get More Outrage?

As Congress targets organized retail theft, America still struggles to show the same urgency when Black, Brown, older, and LMI homeowners lose generational wealth through deed theft. I recently remarked to friends over tea that government officials seem to be more outraged over groups of young adults stealing Gucci handbags than over people stealing houses. […]

Almost $5 Billion Was There for War in the Caribbean — But Not There for Brownsville, Brooklyn

Over the past year, America has found money for military adventures in Venezuela, the Caribbean, and the Eastern Pacific. We’re talking about boat strikes, naval deployments, oil blockades, and regime-change — for national security. Brown University’s Costs of War Project and the Institute for Policy Studies estimate that America’s operations in the region cost at […]

No Arts, No Society: What Syracuse University’s Cuts Really Mean

Economic pressures make more students choose between Rent or Shakespeare — while ignoring what the arts can do for them and others. Syracuse University announcing it will respond to student demand and financial pressures by closing or halting a fifth of its academic programs — with a focus on the humanities — is a red […]

‘Free Diddy’ Won’t Free Us

Or how our emotional investments in questionable symbols of Black excellence continue to fail us. I have three thoughts about the large engagement of African American energy in Diddy’s innocence from creating a criminal enterprise over an azz of one. “Tight p**sy”. “Loose shoes”. A “warm place to s**t”. You should Google that. Or read […]

Menacing Hype Women and Pokémon Collections Aren’t the Threat — Or What’s Really Killing Us?

Love is an underused superpower. Check this visual: a woman introduces her man’s vinyl collection like it’s a third-grade science fair project — and then dares the internet to clap back. But some folks in our online village think they found the latest existential threat to Black masculinity. The comments are cruel. Commenters called the […]

Juneteenth: Beyond the Watermelon and Cookout

“Hmm. Didn’t know where to go. Turned us out just like, you know, you turn out cattle. [ laugh ] I say. Didn’t know where ta go.”—Laura Smalley, former slave in antebellum Texas; interviewed the Library of Congress’ Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project Laura Smalley’s recollection of living in Texas […]

Sly Stone — A Beautiful Prince of Blacknuss

Departed and Beloved Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s “Blacknuss” was more than a song and catchy title. it represented a glowing aesthetic. A unique language — never rooted in hate. A conveyance of history, struggle, creativity, and joy. Hell, Kirk even played the black notes on the piano when he performed the song live. “Blacknuss” represents a […]

Strange Brew: Smartphones are Shaping Our Lives

Are you living outside your screen? Hannah Arendt warned us that technology can cut both ways — open new doors while narrowing important ones. A walk through Chelsea a few years ago made me see her point. While on my way to watch legendary bassist Melvin Gibbs give a free performance at an art gallery, […]