A conversation about what's going on in the world at any given point in time…and what I think about it. Occasionally, guest bloggers may appear. Viewer comments are welcome. Peace! Alpha Heel
Let me begin by stipulating, this will be as short as it is unpopular among persons who generally oppose Donald Trump. As I’ve noted previously, many of my close friends and family members are underwhelmed when I write about politics, and not surprisingly, they are maximally underwhelmed when I write about Donald Trump. For those folks, consider this. In 2024, the following have passed:
1.New Year’s Day
2. Imani (the last day of Kwanzaa
3. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
4. Black History Month
5. Groundhog Day
6. Super Bowl
7. Lincoln’s Birthday
8. Ash Wednesday
9. Valentine’s Day
10. Washington’s Birthday
11. Presidents Day
12. Women’s History Month
13. Daylight Saving Time
14. NCAA Basketball Tournament(s)
15. Ramadan
16. St. Patrick’s Day
17. Spring
18. Palm Sunday
19. Good Friday
20. Easter
21. Tax Freedom Day (North Carolina)
22. Tax Day
23. Boston Marathon
24. First Day of Passover
25. Earth Day
In other words, here we are at the 115th day of the year, more that two dozen notable yearly events have occurred, and I have not written a story singularly focused on Donald Trump. Well, I’m here to tell you, that changes today.
The first of four Trump trials, “Falsifying Records, aka Hush Money, commenced with jury selection last week. It resumed Monday, kicking off with testimony from David Pecker, CEO of American Publishing until August 2020. He was the publisher of several magazines, most notably, for the purposes of this post, National Enquirer, where he was alleged to have executed a strategy known as Catch and Kill, to prevent negative stories from being published about Trump. The basic concept entailed buying exclusive rights to stories (negative to Trump) and not publishing them; simultaneously ensuring no other outlet could publish the stories. There are plenty of sordid details…and you can read all about them elsewhere. I do not have a lot to say about Mr. Trump. In fact, the Title says it all. “Spoiler Alert: He Ain’t Goin’ to Jail!”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the link below:
In January 2023, after an historic 15 ballots, Kevin McCarthy ascended to the Speakership of the United States House of Representatives. For the duration of McCarthy’s 9-month long tenure, the third shortest ever, he and the Biden Administration were at loggerheads. For the GOP’s part, the standoff culminated with McCarthy negotiating a Debt-ceiling deal with the Biden administration.
One of the key provisions of the deal that allowed McCarthy to become Speaker was agreeing that a single GOP House member could call for the speakership to be vacated. The GOP started with a razor-thin majority that has only gotten progressively smaller. By Friday of this week, the Republican Conference will have devolved to a one-member majority. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back.
After reaching the Debt-ceiling agreement in September 2023, The GOP Caucus led by a host of ultra-right-wing conservatives, including Jim Jordan, called for vacating the Speaker’s position. The vote passed, and the Party required several votes, before finally landing on the little-known Mike Johnson as McCarthy’s successor in October.
October was also the month Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing over 1,200, and taking more than 200 hostages. Since that time, Biden and the Democrats have been attempting to secure funding for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. GOP House members have been reticent to agree, especially if Ukraine is included. Also, Democrats in conjunction with GOP Senator James Langford negotiated an agreement on policy to address the Southern Border. However, Donald Trump advised Republicans not to accept the agreement, because he wanted to run on the migrant issue. Subsequently, the House refused to consider the matter.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a self-proclaimed Trump protégé, is now engaged in a pressure campaign to remove Johnson from the Speaker’s post. She was animated by Johnson opting to work with Democrats to pass significant pieces of appropriations bills opposed by conservative members of the Republican conference. Despite her biting rhetoric, including, basically calling Johnson a Democrat, she has yet to bring a motion to vacate. Greene, from Georgia, has succeeded in enlisting the support of another member, Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie. In announcing his support for Greene, Massie predicted Johnson would lose by more votes than McCarthy.
That brings me back to the House GOP working margin; soon to be down to one vote. It’s clear, ennui has set in among members of the House GOP Conference. Several have gone on record suggesting it would be a bad idea to revisit vacating the Chair. A few have expressed doubts that the matter will come to a vote. Given the razor thin GOP majority, Democrats may have an outsized roll in any such effort. In fact, as the conversation has unfolded, at least a couple of Democrats have indicated they would consider voting to retain Johnson. That may or may not come to pass. But what we know at the moment is, we are staring down the barrel of “Déjà Vu All Over Again: The Mike Johnson Edition!”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the link below:
Exhale! The past three weeks, culminating with the Women’s and Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship Games, on Sunday afternoon, and Monday evening, respectively, were a whirlwind of mostly exciting, frequently surprising outcomes, that at the end of the day wound up with the chalkiest of conclusions. The top two number one seeds faced each other in the Finals of both the Men’s and Women’s Tournaments, with the overall number seed prevailing by double digits in their respective Tournament. South Carolina beat Iowa 87-75, and Connecticut, which won all six of its Tournament Games by double digits, eclipsed (see what I did there…the Solar Eclipse was earlier Monday)…Purdue 75-60.
Throughout the course of the Tournament, I heard and saw much more chatter and coverage of the Women’s Tournament than in previous years. Much if not most of the feedback emanating about the Women’s Tournament dealt, directly or indirectly, with Caitlin Clark.
For a segment of the viewing public, this was problematic. For many, it took on an almost sinister nature. It seemed that quite a few people, a lot, but not all of them, genuine sports fans, believed there was a media conspiracy to hype Ms. Clark, to the detriment of Black women athletes. And to be clear, while this was principally a Black thing, it was (and still is, I’m sure), not relegated to women. Part of this may be due to the fact that for years, sports were deemed to be the sole province of men. First of all, if that were ever the case, it is not that way today. In fact, there have been female athletes for eons, so, while the breakdown may be more balanced today, men have never ‘owned’ sports.
In the minds of a lot of Black folks, Basketball belongs to “us;” it’s ‘our’ game. It’s not, of course. Even though we account for a majority of players in the NBA, and on a good many college basketball teams, the game has always been comprised of players of other persuasions. For heaven’s sake, the NBA logo captures the likeness of Jerry West (that may change one day). Along with Magic Johnson, Larry Bird was one of the players instrumental in saving the NBA from a spiraling decline in the 70’s and early 80’s. When Magic Johnson won the MVP of the 1980 NBA Finals, the League was so unpopular that the NBA Finals were not shown on live television. The games were shown as tape-delayed telecasts. A year earlier, Johnson and his Michigan State team had met, and defeated Larry Bird and his up to that point undefeated Indiana State team in the 1979 NCAA Title Game. Afterward, Johnson was drafted by the Lakers, and Bird was drafted by the Celtics. The rest is history.
I say all that to say, there really is no mystery, or conspiracy tied to why Caitlin Clark gets the treatment from the media. There is little more mystery tied to why even some White (Black ones too, I’m sure) WNBA are taking exception to her. Caitlin has an element of style and flair that draws attention to herself. That can easily be off-putting to players and fans alike. More often than not, however, she backs it up…on the court, where it matters most. Some WNBA players, like a number of their NBA counterparts, have enmity toward the new players who come in with all manner of hype, and who will earn more than them.
As a sports fan, and avid observer of sports, especially basketball, what I see, when I watch CC, is the player whom the WNBA, and its television partners envision as the next Box Office mega-star. Is it possible they could be wrong? Of course it is. The NBA, which has considerably more experience and cachet than the W, they’ve had several Number 1 Draft Picks who were flat-out busts, including Pervis Ellison, Kwame Brown, Greg Oden, and Anthony Bennett. So, yes, it could happen. But I don’t expect it to.
Clark is projected to be the WNBA’s Number 1 Draft Pick. If she can avoid injury, she’s likely to live up to the hype. She’s known for her prolific shooting. This year, according to the NCAA, more than 60 of her 3-point shots made were taken from beyond 26 feet. Just to be clear, the NBA 3-point Line is 23.75 feet, at its farthest. She pulls up from distance with impunity and made 38.5. of her 3-point attempts this year as a senior. But she’s not just a gunner. She has stout handles and passes willingly. She holds the NCAA D-1 Tournament all-time women’s records for points, assists, and 3-pointers.
The fascination with Caitlin, by the NCAA, by the media, and by the fans (those who like her, and those who don’t), is tied to the fact that she shows up. Her Iowa team lost in the Title Game to a dominant, undefeated Dawn Staley coached South Carolina team. After giving up 18 first quarter points to Clark, South Carolina made adjustments, and she scored only 12 points the rest of the game. Still, that’s 30 for the game. Two of her most notable adversaries, Angel Reese, a player from LSU, and Coach Staley, complimented her for helping lift the profile of Women’s basketball. The Title game on Sunday was viewed by an average 18.9 million people, and by as many as 24 million, making it the most watched college basketball game. Ever. On to the next level, the Indiana Fever are expected to use the Number 1 Pick to draft Clark. In anticipation, the Las Vegas Aces, who play in an arena that seats 12,000, have secured a venue that accommodates 20,000 fans for the game against Indiana (and phenom Clark).
At the end of the day, that translates into green. That is the color that motivates the NCAA, its media partners, and product sponsors, as well as the WNBA. “Don’t Get It Twisted: It’s Just Business!”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the link below:
Nope. Nobody asked me. I just needed to speak on this for a minute. Attacking, rolling back, or otherwise eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives is becoming a favorite current-day White empowerment strategy; a proverbial go-to move of choice, for those determined to cast White people as the preeminent victims of race-based discrimination in America. While this faux issue is flatly ridiculous on its face, the segment of the populace that has popularized such pithy, but absurd catchphrases as, “Jews will not replace us,” and “There are good people on both sides,” has effectively embedded this narrative into the psyche of countless self-identifying Republicans and conservatives. The practice has become, sort of a starter kit, if you will, for launching a broadscale initiative to turn back the clock on racial progress. Such measures comprise the bulwark action item for the contemporary zealous opposition to CRT.
It’s utterly amazing how much the majority, or in some cases, the plurality now, wants to institutionalize a variety of methodologies to prevent the transfer of knowledge about ways in which Black people, and other People of Color, have been historically marginalized, discriminated against, and in too many instances, straight up murdered, under the color and/or, protection of the law. We know such measures were codified in legal and legislative actions from the nascent days of the Republic. But if one believes in the premise of an on-going effort to perfect the Union, it seems taking on the truth in a direct manner, rather than resorting to deflecting, dissembling, denying, and ultimately, destroying mechanisms that would enlighten the masses, would be the prudent, if not the only course of action for our great American Experiment.
Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Utah, Arizona, Kansas, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia, two dozen, or nearly half of the 50 states have all adopted, or have pending legislation, to put the brakes on racial uplift.
It is well-documented that the history of enslaved people in America extended literally, for centuries. How can one sensibly, reasonably, or effectively argue that in a span of 60 years or less (the civil rights act was passed in 1965/the voting rights act was passed in 1965), the playing field has been leveled, and all the legal and extra-legal methods used to stymie Black progress have been excised, repudiated, or rectified? Moreover, even if they were, and they certainly aren’t, where are the reparations, the recompense, the payment for the blood, sweat, and tears, for the lives needlessly and ruthlessly taken, for the men and women who built the very foundations of this country from the ground up…and, for free?
What is the current GOP/conservative design to deal with this heinous treatment? Eliminate affirmative action, discontinue minority scholarships, forbid teaching the true history of this country in minute and painful detail (in the name of anti-CRT), and abrogate voting rights, especially in minority voting districts. In other words, “Relentlessly Assailing, Denouncing, & Disassembling DEI: A Primer on Turning Back the Clock!”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the links below:
Usually, I provide my take on the issues of the day, while penning a post. But occasionally, I run across a story that I don’t deign to reframe. I like it just the way it is. Such is the case today, with a story by, CNN’sGeorge Ramsay, Jill Martin,David Close, and Wayne Sterling. They wrote about what should have been a depiction of a sporting event, but that instead, devolved into recounting the rough and tumble experiences of a group of athletes who were subjected, firsthand, to an American staple, racism in the first degree. Don’t tell Nikki.
Without further ado, check it out.
Reporting by CNN’s George Ramsey and Jill Martin, with contributions from David Close and Wayne Sterling.
The Utah women’s basketball team had to switch hotels after experiencing what head coach Lynne Roberts called “racial hate crimes” ahead of its first NCAA tournament game.
According to Roberts, the team was staying at a hotel in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, last week when the incidents occurred. This was before a first-round game against South Dakota State in Spokane, Washington, about 30 miles away.
“We had several instances of some kind of racial hate crimes towards our program, and (it was) incredibly upsetting for all of us,” Roberts told reporters on Monday.
She added: “There is so much diversity on a college campus and so you’re just not exposed to that very often … Racism is real. It happens. It’s awful. So, for our players, whether they are White, Black, green, whatever, no one knew how to handle it. It was really upsetting.”
Utah defeated South Dakota State on Saturday before losing 77-66 against Gonzaga in the tournament’s second round on Monday. CNN has contacted Utah and Gonzaga for further comment.
The details of the alleged racist incidents are unclear, but Gonzaga said it may have been disparaging comments.
Following them, Roberts said the Utes switched hotels after just one night before their games in Spokane.
“For our players and staff to not feel safe in an NCAA tournament environment, it’s messed up, and so we moved hotels,” she explained.
“The NCAA and ([host university) Gonzaga worked to get us in a new hotel and we appreciate that. That’s what happened. It was a distraction and upsetting and unfortunate.
“This should be a positive for everybody involved. This should be a joyous time for our program. To have kind of a black eye on this experience is unfortunate.”
Spokane was also a predetermined site for the first two rounds of the men’s tournament. With the Utah, UC Irvine, and South Dakota State women’s teams all staying in the area, hotel space was limited.
After the elimination of some men’s teams, the NCAA and Gonzaga offered Utah and UC Irvine the chance to move to the vacated hotel rooms in Spokane, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.
The source added that, because Utah and UC Irvine had been based in Idaho, Gonzaga had arranged for police escorts to ensure the drive time to the venue did not exceed approximately 30 minutes, which is a condition of being able to host after earning a top-16 seed.
After those two teams were moved into Spokane hotels, police escorts continued to be provided for them, according to the source.
Gonzaga said that it is aware of “racially disparaging comments” to visiting players, adding: “Hate speech in any form is repugnant, shameful and must never be tolerated.
“We worked hard to secure the opportunity to serve as the host institution, and our first priority is and must be the safety and welfare of all student-athletes, coaches, families and supporting staff.”
The NCAA said Tuesday it worked with Gonzaga and Utah to provide increased security for the Utes until new accommodations were arranged in Spokane.
“The NCAA condemns racism and hatred in any form and is committed to providing a world-class athletics and academic experience for student-athletes that fosters lifelong well-being,” it said in a statement. “NCAA championship events represent the pinnacle of a student-athlete’s collegiate career. We are devastated about the Utah team’s experience while traveling to compete on what should have been a weekend competing on the brightest stage and creating some of the fondest memories of their lives.”
The organization thanked local law enforcement for its quick response and “efforts to keep student-athletes safe.”
Idaho’s Republican Gov. Brad Little gave no details but called the incidents the “hateful, unacceptable actions of a few” that Idahoans cannot let “tarnish our state.”
“Idaho leaders and community members at all levels have been consistent and clear about our values – we fully reject racism in all its forms,” he said in a statement. “We condemn bullies who seek to harass and silence others. I will continue the tradition of past Idaho governors in supporting our local leaders in their efforts to eradicate hate and bigotry from our communities.”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the links below:
Just a quick note about a subject that merits much more discourse than I am going to give it today. Yesterday, Hunter Elward, a former Mississippi sheriff’s deputy who was a member of a group that described itself as the “Goon Squad,” was sentenced to 241 months in prison for his role in torturing two Black men last year, after the two men were reported for staying in a home with a White woman. Jeffrey Middleton was sentenced to 17.5 years.
U.S. Judge Tom Lee, who sentenced Hunter Elward, and Jeffrey Middleton, two of the six “Goon Squad” members, is also set to sentence the other four renegade former lawmen who admitted subjecting Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker to various and sundry acts of racist torture. It is commonplace for White people in America to object to being called racist. In that light, I will not even deign to assert that these former officers were racist. However, due to the Court’s charges, and the defendants’ subsequent admissions, their behavior met the criteria. I’ll leave it at that. You may decide for yourself.
Prior to sentencing, Judge Lee characterized Elward’s and Middleton’s crime as egregious and despicable,” and opined a “sentence at the top of the guideline range is justified – is more than justified. It’s what the defendants deserve. It’s what the community and the defendants’ victims deserve.”
The terror unfolded on January 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence. A White person called Rankin County Deputy Brett McAlpin to register a complaint that two Black men were staying with a White woman at a house in Braxton, Mississippi. McAlpin told Deputy Christian (ironically named, apparently) Dedmon, who in turn texted a group of White Deputies so willing to use excessive force, they called themselves “The Goon Squad.”
This led to the group of six, five Deputies, and a police officer, bursting into the home, with no warrant in hand, and assaulting Jenkins and Parker with stun guns, a sex toy, and other objects. Elward, by his own admission, shoved a gun into Jenkins’ mouth and fired it, in a “mock execution” that went awry.
The “Goon Squad” handcuffed Jenkins and Parker and poured milk, alcohol, and chocolate syrup over their faces. They forced them to strip naked and shower together to conceal the resulting disarrayed clutter. They hurled racial slurs at the victims and shocked them with stun guns.
After the mock execution went left, they attempted to execute a coverup that including planting drugs and a gun. The false charges associated with that ruse stood for months.
Not surprisingly, the victims, Jenkins and Parker called for the “stiffest of sentences” at a news conference Monday.
Jenkins noted, “It’s been very hard for me, for us. We are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.”
Jenkins, who was shot in the mouth, endured a lacerated tongue and a broken jaw. He still experiences difficulty speaking and eating.
Attorney Malik Shabazz, an attorney for both victims, said the results of the sentencing hearings could have national implications.
He went on to say, “Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker continue to suffer emotionally and physically since this horrific and bloody attack by Rankin County Deputies. A message must be sent to police in Mississippi and all over America, that level of criminal conduct will be met with the harshest of consequences.”
An investigation by The Associated Press, prior to charges being filed, linked some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019, that left two dead and another with long term injuries.
In addition to Mr. Elward, and Mr.. Middleton, the other former officers charged include McAlpin, Dedmon, and Daniel Opdyke of the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department, and Joshua Hartfield, a Richland police officer. They pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy against rights, obstruction of justice, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm under a crime of violence, and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Court papers identified Hunter Elward as one of the “Goon Squad” members. The others identified as part of the “Squad” were Middleton and Opdyke.
Elward faced a maximum federal sentence of 120 years, plus life in prison and $2.75 million in fines, as does Dedmon. Hartfield faces a possible sentence of 80 years and $1.5 million. McAlpin faces 90 years and $1.75 million, Middleton faces 80 years and $1.5 million, and Opdyke could be sentenced to 100 years with a $2 million fine.
All the former officers agreed to prosecutor-recommended sentences ranging from five to 30 years in state court, but time served for separate convictions at the state level will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences.
Interestingly, Ranking County, which is majority-white, is just east of the state capital, Jackson, home to one of the highest percentages of Black residents in any major U.S. city. The officers warned Jenkins and Parker to “stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson, or ‘their side’ of the Pearl River,” according to court documents, referring to an area with a higher concentration of Black residents.
These crimes, committed by men charged with, and authorized to, enforce the law, hearkened back to Mississippi’s dark history, including the 1964 killing of three civil rights workers after a Deputy handed them off to the Ku Klux Klan. People like to pretend such acts are relegated to the past, which brings to mind Faulkner’s sage observance: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
Bryan Bailey is the Sheriff of Rankin County. He supervised the five Deputies who, along with a Richland police officer, committed the crimes. For months, Sheriff Bailey said little about the episode. After his officers pleaded guilty in August, he said the officers had gone rogue, and promised to change the department. Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil suit against the department. “In Black & White: Racism or Just My Imagination!”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the links below:
Yesterday, like last Tuesday, Super Tuesday, several U.S. states conducted Primary Elections. Nikki Haley bowed out of the GOP Nomination process a week ago today. At that point, technically, there was no remaining mystery related to who would represent the Grand Old Party in the 2024 Presidential Election. The reality is, we’ve known for some time who would be the two principal candidates.
But, as is often said, the job is not done until the paperwork is complete. Wrapping up the job requires a candidate on each side to reach the required numerical threshold. For Biden, the number of delegates required to clench the Democratic Nomination is 1,968. Biden exceeded that number early last night, almost as soon as the polls closed at 7:00 p.m. in Georgia (ironically), and news agencies projected Biden’s win in the Peach State. Within 10 minutes of the polls closing at 11:00 p.m., in Washington State, Trump, who needs 1,215 delegates, was declared the winner, and simultaneously, cited as having earned his party’s nomination. States voting yesterday included primaries in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington, and Caucuses in Hawaii.
So far in the pre-electoral process, Trump has won every state, but Vermont, while Biden has lost only the Territory of American Samoa. This is one of the earliest points in history when the finalists have been determined for both parties. There are 236 days remaining until Election Day. That means many things, perhaps none more important than for the next 33 weeks, we will be locked in one continuous 2024 Election Day news cycle. Oh yeah, it is vital to know and note, both candidates have to go to their respective Conventions and be officially voted in as the Nominee.
We have been warned about the intrusion of AI into our election process. The candidates and their surrogates will be endeavoring to paint their opponent with the least flattering of brushes. Meanwhile, The GOP House will try to impeach President Biden. Team Trump will be working to delay, and or pursue judicial elimination of court cases in New York, Washington, DC, Georgia, and Florida, on one hand, while, on the other, appealing massive (literally, hundreds of millions of dollars worth) court ordered payouts.
Lest we forget, last week, President Biden delivered the State of the Union (SOTU) Address. Republicans leaned head over heels into painting Biden as an old, addled, dementia-suffering frail being, who may not live to next week. Frankly, it sounded as though they didn’t think he’d even make it through the SOTU last Thursday. Not surprisingly, after the GOP lowered the bar of expectations to just North of ground level, Biden easily cleared the hurdle, so much so, until they were forced to change their attack line from Biden’s inescapable feebleness to, Biden was, instead of low energy and lost, he was too loud, and overly political. Side note: let’s not gloss over the fierce and loud suggestion of Biden’s mortality, as I have previously advised in other posts, is primarily about the intense fear that in the event Biden were to die while in office, he would, horror of horrors, be succeeded by Vice President Kamala Harris. The fear (and in may instances disdain) of a Black woman President is real, and palpable. Even Nikki Haley argued, when she was an active candidate, “There will be a woman President. The choice is whether it will be me or Kamala Harris.”
The beauty of being entrenched in opposition to Biden is, when one idea or position fizzles, or is demonstrated to be untenable, the GOP just secures another attack line and rides the wave until it’s necessary to reboot and find another rhetorical brick to hurl into the debate. Yesterday’s brick was the testimony of Special Counsel Robert Hur, who wrote a report describing Biden as “old, forgetful, and sympathetic.” However, despite those notable negative traits, the one that most ignited Republicans was “Unlikely to be convicted by a jury.”
During questioning, Hur likely left both Democrats and Republicans dissatisfied. He insisted on noting the word exonerated did not appear in his report. That frustrated some Dems. And, while he defended his decision to characterize Biden as he did, he added he did not say Biden was senile. GOP House members were visibly and audibly disappointed. Upon direct questioning, Hur said Biden didn’t hide documents, or refuse to cooperate/testify, or direct his lawyer to lie, or ask aids to move classified material to keep them hidden or deny access to any of his homes. There was more, but you get the point.
I understand you may be tired of hearing about the coming Election. I apologize. Regardless of whether I write about how our nation’s political dynamics are playing out, you will find them at every turn, and in every nook and cranny. We are there. “Biden-Trump 2.0: It’s On!”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the links below:
Yesterday was the second biggest day in American Electoral politics, Super Tuesday, exceeded in importance, and in actual number of Americans voting, only by Election Day, November 5, 2024. Ten weeks ago, I noted after the first couple of Republican contests, the GOP Caucuses in Iowa, and the New Hampshire GOP Primary in the Granite State, that we could confidently project the 2024 Presidential Race would feature the same two candidates as the 2020 Campaign. Donald Trump won both contests, and while the Democratic Party’s Primary Season had yet to kick off, as an incumbent President, Joe Biden was certain to be the other principal in a binary choice.
As I write this, the results from Super Tuesday continue to roll in. At midnight, there has been one deviation, as Nikki Haley won the Vermont Primary. Meanwhile, Biden seems poised for a clean sweep of the states with Democratic contests. However, he did lose the one Territory, American Samoa, that was contested last night.
The bottom line is, we are about to, as they say in sports parlance, run it back. There are two candidates capable of winning in November, Biden, and Trump, and you get to vote for one. The end.
So yesterday was the end of the beginning of our two-part voting season. For all practical purposes, you have one more shot, the fall Early Voting period/Election Day. This is where I insert my regular programming. If you haven’t registered to vote, do it tomorrow. Plan to vote as soon as the Early Voting period begins, if your state or territory has one, and if it doesn’t have one, plan to vote on Election Day.
As I watch and listen to various analyses of the candidates, and the pending Election, two key things resonate. First, Republicans in general, and especially Trump supporters, believe whatever he says. They accept the mean tweets, they embrace the hyperbole and untruths as fact, and they largely consider those who take exception to his rambling rants, as infidels. Second, Trump himself says those who don’t get on board with him should be forever exiled from MAGAdom. His supporters dutifully agree.
If Super Tuesday resolved anything, it is that the GOP Race, if there ever was one, is over. Late last night, House Speaker Mike Johnson congratulated Trump as “our Nominee.” At this writing, Nikki Haley had not conceded.* She declined to issue a statement after last night’s results. Nevertheless, Trump continues to move rapidly toward the goal of 1,215 of 2,429 delegates required to win the nomination. The powers that be within the GOP are nearly unified in urging Haley to drop out so Trump can focus solely on Biden. Team Trump has projected that they may reach the threshold as early as next week. The clock is tick, tick, ticking, and the hands of time cannot be turned back. Miss Nikki’s days are numbered. The remaining outstanding questions appear to be, will Haley make an about-face and endorse Trump, and if so, when?
On the other side of the equation, Biden has his own set of concerns. His support is lagging among several constituent groups of the Democratic coalition, as I mentioned in last week’s post, including, but not limited to, African Americans, Moslem Americans, Hispanics, young people, and progressives. In the final analysis, the margins in all those groups will matter. Biden may not fall below 50% support in any of those groups, but every vote counts. If the margins are substantially less that they were in 2020, it may be lethal to Biden’s chances to win. However, it’s not just those who will vote for Trump instead of Biden that matter. Just as important, and possibly more so, will be those who stay at home and don’t vote.
In summary, I will say again: your vote matters. Moreover, for all those who don’t know, don’t recognize, or don’t believe Biden did anything to enhance their lives over the past three plus years, he did. Let me count (some of) the ways:
Leveraged the full force of the federal government to advance racial justice and equity
Created new business opportunities/promoting entrepreneurship for Black Americans; 60% wealth increase vs. pre pandemic
America is the premier energy producing (including oil) country in the world
Added 14 million jobs since January 2021 (Trump left office at minus 2 million jobs)
Contributed to the lowest unemployment ever, including for African Americans
Unemployment has remained below 4% for 22 consecutive months
Inflation (which is still too high) has fallen by two-thirds
Reduced child poverty to historic lows
Expanded access to quality low income housing
Increased access to quality education with historic funding to HBCU’s
Expanded access to affordable healthcare
Advanced voting rights and police accountability
That’s just a dozen examples of things that too often fly under the radar, but that affect the day to day lives of millions of average Americans, especially those in the Democratic coalition. The Biden Administration has fostered and executed the initiatives above, and many others.
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”
Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
Before I get started, allow me to interject, this post does not reflect anyone else’s data, research, or views; only my own, based upon my assessment and interpretation of contemporary current events.
Many Democrats, blinded by party loyalty, refuse to publicly prosecute the vulnerabilities…at least publicly, of Joe Biden. That’s not to say Republicans are more inclined to critique Donald Trump; they most certainly are not. But this post is not about Trump. This missive is an elocution on Biden and yesterday’s protest vote in the Michigan Democratic Primary.
First, let us note, President Biden is in the initial stages of a challenging re-election campaign. We always knew it would be. Full stop. In a big picture dynamic, there are those who will argue that Biden has labored under a mixed bag of self-inflicted wounds, bad luck, and circumstances beyond his direct control. Regardless of whether that is fair, the fact is, whoever sits in the Oval Office has the awesome responsibility of owning the spot where the proverbial buck stops. There are no ifs, no ands, no buts…simply put, no way around it, whatsoever.
The Democratic Party has a large, unwieldy, and loosely aligned coalition. It’s commonly known as a big tent. When things go well, it’s an impressive machine. At the end of the day, in 2020, it clicked. Joe Biden garnered over 81 million votes, the most in any U.S. Presidential Campaign, ever.
The election four years ago occurred during a global pandemic, amidst economic chaos, an education crisis, and supply chain disruption. The sitting President was actively promoting unorthodox and non-scientific remedies for the covid virus, had been impeached once, and was impeached again a week before his term expired. Oh yeah, the charge for his second impeachment was “incitement of insurrection.” Clearly, there was a significant wind filling Biden’s sails.
That was then. Every election stands on its own. 2024 brings with it, specific challenges. For President Biden, that includes a weakening of support among several subsets of the Democratic coalition, including Blacks, Hispanics, Youth, progressives, and in Michigan especially, Moslem-American activists. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib has led the charge in creating a campaign for Michiganders identifying as Democrats, to vote “uncommitted,” to send a message to President Biden. Tlaib, and Arab-Americans are angry about Biden’s support of Netanyahu and Israel in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East, arising from Hamas attacking Israel on October 7, 2023. The progressives want Biden to pressure the Israeli Prime Minister to cease and desist with the bombing campaign that has resulted in tens of thousands of Arabs, many of them children, being killed. More importantly, they also want a cessation of aid to Israel. The not-so-subtle messaging behind the campaign is to say to Biden, we are giving you a dress rehearsal, demonstrating what could happen in November, if you don’t meet our demands.
President Bident was declared the winner of last night’s Michigan Primary very early in the evening. However, winning the Primary was never in question. What was at issue was the number/percentage of people who would ultimately vote uncommitted. Tlaib set the modest goal of 10,000 votes as the floor. That number, which admittedly was a lowball figure, was quickly exceeded. By midnight, with roughly 50% of the vote tallies, over 60K “uncommitted” votes had been counted.
Here’s the rub. Michigan (along with Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) is a swing state, and was instrumental in determining the outcome of the 2020 Presidential race. It is expected to be pivotal again in 2024. The Moslem community went heavily for Biden in 2020. In a state he won by roughly 150,000 votes, Moslem-Americans voted him by approximately the same number of votes (Not all “uncommitted” votes were by Arabs/Moslems). That seems simple and straight-forward enough. But the fundamentals and context of the broader discourse is considerably more complex. As noted earlier, several of the constituencies in the Democratic coalition have seen their support of Biden soften, relative to what it was in 2020. Moslems are just one of them. He must be concerned about all of them.
As it relates to Tlaib and the progressives’ stated posture on a ceasefire, and discontinuing aid, there is a particular calculus that does not portend a favorable outcome. Another of the stated groups of the Democratic coalition are Jews. The odds that Biden, or any U.S. President would stop aid to our single most reliable ally in the Middle East is, in a word, zero! The President has even been reticent to publicly pressure Netanyahu to cease the bombing, and to the extent he’s implied it, Bibi has blown him off, and talked about not being a puppet of the U.S. Of course, the Prime Minister is a rightward leaning politician, and has maintained a less than enthusiastically supportive/positive posture with Democratic Presidents (See Barack Obama), so the President’s reluctance to go there is not surprising. One other key consideration is, politically, there is an argument to be made that it is in Netanyahu’s interest to extend the war. He is an unpopular leader, and without the war, he would immediately face daunting challenges to his tenure.
There are multiple dimensions of the playing field when it comes to resolving the dispute between Israel and Hamas. President Biden and his team have been immersed in trying to end the conflict. He was instrumental in reaching the ceasefire that led to the earlier release of some hostages. Undoubtedly, he will continue to work diligently, moving forward. But if you take nothing else from this conversation, understand this reality: “Michigan Primary: The Horns of a Dilemma for Biden!”
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”
Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.
I am well on the way to my 17th year as a Blogger, Content Creator, or whatever other term you choose as your preferred euphemism. In sixteen and a half years, I have made over 850 blog posts. The range of topics I have tacked run the gamut, and include, among other things, politics, history, sports, holidays, healthcare, education, race, America, labor, wars, personalities, and travel, just to cite a dozen categories. One thing I have never written about, and in full disclosure, have never contemplated writing about, is Country Music. Decades ago, I heard a Country Music singer say, “The Country in Country Music, is America.” While admittedly, not a fan of the genre, then or now, I must admit, the moment I heard the guy say that I thought it was profound. I still believe that to be true.
Yesterday, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter’s new song, “Texas Hold ‘Em” debuted as the Number 1 song on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Even if it’s only a paragraph, I must write about that. Image Bey being featured/nominated for one or more awards in the Country category at the 2025 Grammy’s, or at the Country Music Association Awards Show next year. We all know Bey & Jay are music royalty. When they make music, they make news. That’s been the case, since long before the two became the power couple they are today. For them, grabbing headlines in the music world is virtually de rigueur. But even by that standard, this is different.
Let’s not get it twisted though. Black folks are not new to this country music thing. The first string bands in this country were enslaved people. Moreover, the root of country music is blues, of which Santi Elijah Holley said, “It’s Black as hell.” When I was growing up, Charley Pride, was the Country sensation of the era. In 1962, Ray Charles released his 17th album, entitled, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. He went on to earn a Grammy for Album of the Year. Oh yeah, lest I forget to mention it, Beyoncé’s other new country song “16 Carriages” ranks No. 9 on the Billboard Country Music chart. Yes, in addition to debuting at Number 1, she also has a second Billboard Country Music chart Top 10 hit.
Today, there are several successful Black artists, popular for their singing country music, including Mickey Guyton, Kane Brown, Jimmy Allen, Brittney Spencer, and Willie Jones. They are all fine artists. However, none of them is Beyoncé, who has collected 88 Nominations, and 32 Grammy Awards: both, the most in history. Incidentally, Jay-Z has also garnered 88 Nominations, tying “his Bey” for most ever, to accompany his 24 Grammy Awards. Yes, that’s right, between the two of them, they have earned 176 Grammy Nominations, and 56 Grammy Awards.
In landing her first-ever No. 1 single on the country charts, Beyoncé enters rare air. She became only the second solo woman with no accompanying artists to achieve the feat. Taylor Swift, whose songs “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” hit No. 1 in 2021.
Bey is also the first woman to have topped both the Hot Country and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts since the lists began in 1958. Morgan Wallen, Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Ray Charles are the only other artists to have reached No. 1 on both charts.
Her current hits, “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em,” were released Feb. 11, after Beyoncé teased the release of new music in a surprise Super Bowl ad for Verizon. She also announced her eighth solo studio album “Renaissance Act II” is scheduled for release March 29, 2024. “Bey Watch: This Is My “Country!””
To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.”
Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects related to this post, consult the links below:
BREAK IT DOWN! 