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 […]

Obama, Harris, Black Men, Black Women, and the Bigger Problem No One Talks About

As if white supremacy has nothing to do with this … Black men’s apparent problem with Vice President Kamala Harris running for Commander in Chief and former President Barack Obama admonishing those men about their feelings show how white supremacy — no, not white people — has such a voodoo headlock on Black intimate partnerships […]

Why Gaza’s Latest Unchosen Trauma Reflects a Sad Day in America

Reflecting on the Flour Massacre Israel starved the Gazans, and then murdered scores of them two days ago for starving. The Israeli military’s version of the story is that the unarmed Palestinians’ desperate rush towards the humanitarian aid trucks posed a threat to the soldiers on the ground. And US President Joe Biden still ships […]

Questions in January

If poverty in America was treated like an invading Russian army, how much lethal aid would the poor receive to eliminate it? If former President Donald Trump is elected president of the US again, Should current President Joe Biden flee the country as if it were Haiti? Should Vice President Kamala Harris leave? If Trump […]

Losing Alabama — the choice between Doug Jones and Roy Moore

Who is Alabama Senate candidate Doug Jones? Not sure if his supporters care to know much beyond the two most obvious things. He’s not his Republican opponent, Roy Moore. “He convicted the [1963 Birmingham] church bombers.” And there’s that ridiculous campaign piece designed to convince readers how Jones is sharp on the issues most important […]

Let’s Revisit Robots and Minimum Wage Fast Food Workers

I’m not a fan of convenience stores. But I get the case for why so many of us visit them — familiar structures located within the familiarity of our neighborhood’s borders, and merchandised with a limited set of familiar choices to enable easy purchase decisions. The world is already difficult to navigate. We love “easy” […]

Trump and Russia vs. Political Elites

Now that the mainstream press has most of us conditioned to get hysterical about the expanding web of Trump Administration officials who spoke with THE RUSSIANS … … All caps used for dramatic branding purposes … Can we have a moment to make partial sense out of this? “Partial” is an important term here since […]

DNC Doesn’t Want to Be Saved

In another Democratic National Committee move that didn’t surprise me by any measure, unofficial Obama favorite, Clinton family ally and former Labor Secretary Thomas Perez was elected to serve as the imploded political party’s chairperson yesterday. Perez’s win over his more more Progressive opponent, Representative Keith Ellison, confirms a thought that’s been droning in my head for the past […]

THIS STUDY PROVES BIG MONEY WINS DAMN-NEAR ALL ELECTIONS

Wu-Tang is Right: “C.R.E.A.M.” Same goes for you and your neighbors. The Institute of New Economic Thinking’s recent and somber research (PDF) proves that money spent on political campaigns b***h-stomps the people’s will almost all the time. INET director Thomas Ferguson, along with researchers Paul Jorgensen and Jie Chen, examined more than three decades of […]

EXITING THE PIMPS’ HOUSE — AN ALLEGORY

If a pimp with no hos means nothing much more than a broke-azz, fancy dresser in need of a career counselor, how much better off do you think a large house full of pimps will fare? That’s why you shouldn’t be surprised about the house full of pimps in this story who collectively decided to […]