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. […]

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 […]