NBA Champs Skip White House: Take Students to Visit National Museum of African American History and Culture

Posted on February 28, 2018 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

On the final day of last summer (September 22, 2017), the Golden State Warriors’ phenom Step Curry voiced his disinterest in taking the customary ceremonial visit to the White House, a time-honored tradition observed by many Championship sports teams in America. Curry is one among a host of luminaries who have consistently expressed their displeasure with President Trump, based on his policies and his rhetoric. During the team’s media day, Curry had the following to say:

“My views haven’t changed at all. I don’t know if anybody’s changed. But that’s where I stand right now. I don’t want to go. That’s my nucleus of my belief.”

A number of Curry’s teammates, and his coach, Steve Kerr, expressed similar sentiments. Kevin Durant said he would not go. So did David West. Draymond Green added:

“We’re going to have a discussion to pretty much take the temperature of everyone. We’re going to decide what is best, whatever we think is best for us.”

Curry further explained his reservations thusly:

“Basically the things he said and the things he hasn’t said at the right times, we won’t stand for it. By acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country and what’s accepted and what we turn a blind eye to.”

Steph noted the travails of Colin Kaepernick, whom Trump disparaged for kneeling during the National Anthem as a way to protest police brutality toward minorities. He also referenced Seahawks’ defensive end Michael Bennett, who said he experienced racial profiling following the Mayweather-McGregor fight, when he had a gun drawn on him.

He conceded not going to the White House is not the equivalent of a silver bullet, and will not instantly or miraculously make all things right with the world. But it is, he said, his opportunity to give voice to those kinds of concerns. Coach Kerr, General Manager Bob Myers, and Co-owner Joe Lacob agreed the decision deserved a proper forum and the right amount of thought. Myers revealed that though there had been a discussion with the White House, they had not granted a formal invitation. But that was soon a moot point.

As you know, Mr. Trump considers himself the King of clap back. So, shortly after hearing about what he considered Curry’s unimaginably injurious slight, he withdrew the invitation that, while implied due to custom, technically had not yet been extended. But I digress. As I find myself saying, far too often these days, and thinking more frequently than I say, this kind of tit-for-tat hijinks might actually be mildly amusing…were it not for the fact that they involve the Leader of the Free World as an integral player.

Fast-forward to Saturday (the next day), and Mr. Trump fired up his Twitter feed, and framed his retort, “officially,” rescinding an invitation that was never, in reality, tendered, with however many clicks of his keypad:

“Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!”

One presumes this kind of hissy fit of a rejoinder renders Trump immensely satisfied, and his teeming mass of ardent supporters in a state of full-scale euphorically orgasmic relief. Again, if only this were a segment of a weekly comedy special, instead of acts characteristically endemic of the daily routine of the man wearing the title POTUS. Sad.

Be that as it may, that was then. Yesterday, the Warriors sojourned to the Nation’s Capital and spent the day reaching back to students. Kevin Durant has roots in the D.C. area. He grew up in Suitland, MD, outside of the District. The students selected for the visit attend his former elementary school in Pleasant Seat. Speaking of those youngsters, Durant said:

“Kids from my area don’t really get that opportunity to be in front of champions like that. So hopefully it will inspire them to just be whatever they want to be in life.”

To merge the visit, contextually, with the pending end of Black History Month, the team planned a visit with those students to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Durant was particularly excited about the opportunity to be a part of the team taking kids from his old “hood” to see the Museum, while facilitating their introduction to members of the Warriors team. Before the visit he opined:

“Hanging with the kids tomorrow is going to be pretty cool as well. Celebrate our Championship with the kids, especially in the neighborhood I grew up in. It’s going to be pretty amazing. I just want them to take it in. I want them to meet Steph and Klay. … Hopefully we set a good example. I know we set a good example every time we walk on the court and every time we walk around. It’s going to be cool to be up close and personal.”

It is worth noting that Steph and Klay actually did visit the White House earlier, when the Warriors won the NBA Title in 2015 and subsequently visited with President Obama in 2016. Durant was not with the team at that time, but, as with the majority of the players, coaches, management, and team ownership, he was on board with the collective team decision to ditch what would have been the 2018 Edition of the (2017) NBA Champions’ White House visit. The paramount reason and specific business purpose for the Warriors’ visit to the Nation’s Capital comes this evening when they play The Washington Wizards. Nevertheless, it’s a near certainty that yesterday’s visit to the NMAAH&C with students from Seat Pleasant, Maryland was critically important to the entire organization, and especially to their newest star and DMV homeboy, Kevin Durant. That’s why this post is entitled, “NBA Champs Skip White House: Take Students to Visit National Museum of African American History and Culture!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

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.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2761734-warriors-students-from-kevin-durants-hometown-to-tour-african-american-museum?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-curry-trump-20170923-story.html

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/politics/golden-state-warriors-white-house-visit-donald-trump/index.html

https://www.yahoo.com/news/warriors-reveal-alternative-white-house-visit-trip-washington-175014077.html

http://amp.idahostatesman.com/sports/nba/article202456999.html

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2018/02/27/golden-state-warriors-to-visit-dc-children-after-being-disinvited-from-white-house.html

https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Golden-State-Warriors-to-Visit-DC-Kids-Instead-of-White-House-475179773.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2018/02/27/warriors-skip-white-house-trip-african-american-museum/376576002/

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/27/golden-state-warriors-dc-visit-trump-426635

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22591280/golden-state-warriors-way-visit-dc-children-tuesday

https://www.sbnation.com/2018/2/27/17058176/warriors-white-house-washington-dc-children-museum-local-kiddos-good-job-yall

https://www.rollingstone.com/sports/news/steve-kerr-golden-state-warriors-dc-visit-trump-dis-w510628

Witch Hunt. Hoax. Fake News. Phony Scam. #NotAnymore!

Posted on February 21, 2018 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Donald J. Trump has consistently maligned the investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, using terms like witch hunt, hoax, fake news, and phony scam. If you’ve followed the situation, you know he hasn’t stopped there. Mr. Trump routinely levels broadside assaults against the FBI, and ignores the assessment of his own (as in he appointed them) Intelligence Agency Directors. In the considered opinion of the collective American Intel community, The Russians meddled in the 2016 Presidential Election. This has turned out to be quite problematic, but not because of the reason(s) one might think.

The very idea of this conclusion is akin to a bur in Trump’s very ample saddle. By his way of thinking, the mere suggestion that anything other than his personal brilliance, and stellar campaign tactics were responsible, in any way, for his victory, is not just a rank miscalculation, but also an affront to his not so refined sensibilities.

The Leader of the free world is so personally absorbed with his perception of being ill-treated by the FBI, he asserted that the Agency was responsible for the recent Florida school shooting because…they were obsessed with Trump, rather than with conducting the appropriate follow-up on Nikolas Cruz, the young man who killed 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL on Valentine’s Day. Of course, this completely ignores the fact that the FBI has 35,000 employees, and that the criminal investigation in Florida is in no way connected with the political meddling case. other than that, the argument is still completely illogical on its face.

Add to all this the fact that Trump refuses to take Vladimir Putin and Russia to task for their fundamentally bad actor moves; not even by executing Sanctions already approved by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 98-2, and in the House by a vote of 419-3, or a total in the entire Congress of 517-5. In other words, in this hyper-partisan era, 99.4% of the entire Congress voted for Sanctions that the President refuses to enact. Does that mean the President of the United States has more faith, trust, and confidence in Putin than in his own FBI, and more respect for Vlad than he does the United States Congress, in which his Party controls both Houses? You be the judge!

Last Friday, Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein held a news conference at which he detailed charges related to indictments against 13 Russian Nationals and three Russian entities for trying to influence the 2016 Presidential Election in the United States…in favor of Donald Trump. Boom! As they say in the MiO commercial, “This changes everything.”

A summary of the 37-page indictment, as detailed by Bloomberg, includes several key elements:

Twelve of the Russians worked in various capacities to carry out election and political interference operations targeting the U.S. — “by impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful function of the government through fraud and deceit.”

The campaign started in 2014, ran through the presidential election of 2016, and continued after that.

“Some defendants, posing as U.S. persons and without revealing their Russian association, communicated with unwitting individuals associated with the Trump campaign and with other political activists.”

An American with a Texas-based grass-roots organization suggested to the Russians that they should focus their activities on “purple states like Colorado, Virginia and Florida.” After the exchange, the Russians commonly referred to targeting those states.

Their financing was provided by the 13th defendant, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin and companies which he allegedly controlled.
Mueller Accuses Russians of Pro-Trump, Anti-Clinton Meddling

The Russians posed as Americans, created fake personas, and ran social media pages and groups designed to attract U.S. audiences, including on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. They also used stolen identities of real Americans to post on those accounts.

The goal was “to sow discord in the U.S. political system,” including the presidential election, by supporting the Trump campaign and disparaging his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, with ads and rallies.

They’re charged with failing to disclose those expenditures, failing to register as foreign agents and obtaining visas through false and fraudulent statements.

The program was run from St. Petersburg, Russia.

It employed hundreds of individuals for its online operations

The organization, with an annual budget equivalent to millions of U.S. dollars, aimed to carry out “information warfare” against the U.S.

From Introduction to Substitute Assets, Mueller’s Indictment covers 99 individually enumerated topics, several of which also included alpha-based subdivisions. To give you an idea of the depth of the strategies and tactics the Russians employed, I pulled items 43-46 for your edification. These elements focus on the Russian operatives communicating derogatory information about Trump’s GOP Primary opponents, and Hillary Clinton, and communicating information in support of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. During the General Election, they produced and distributed an array of pro-Trump and anti-Clinton election materials, maintained corresponding social media accounts, and undertook a variety of efforts to suppress minority voting.

By 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators used their fictitious online personas to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump. 43. By 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators used their fictitious online personas to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. They engaged in operations primarily intended to communicate derogatory information about Hillary Clinton, to denigrate other candidates such as Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, and to support Bernie Sanders and then-candidate Donald Trump.
Certain ORGANIZATION-produced materials about the 2016 U.S. presidential election used election-related hashtags, including: “#Trump2016,” “#TrumpTrain,” “#MAGA,” “#IWontProtectHillary,” and “#Hillary4Prison.” Defendants and their co-conspirators also established additional online social media accounts dedicated to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including the Twitter account “March for Trump” and Facebook accounts “Clinton FRAUDation” and “Trumpsters United.”
Defendants and their co-conspirators also used false U.S. personas to communicate with unwitting members, volunteers, and supporters of the Trump Campaign involved in local community outreach, as well as grassroots groups that supported then-candidate Trump. These individuals and entities at times distributed the ORGANIZATION’s materials through their own accounts via retweets, reposts, and similar means. Defendants and their co-conspirators then monitored the propagation of content through such participants.
In or around the latter half of 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators, through their ORGANIZATION-controlled personas, began to encourage U.S. minority groups not to vote in the 2016 U.S. presidential election or to vote for a third-party U.S. presidential candidate.

On or about October 16, 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators used the ORGANIZATION-controlled Instagram account “Woke Blacks” to post the following message: “[A] particular hype and hatred for Trump is misleading the people and forcing Blacks to vote Killary. We cannot resort to the lesser of two devils. Then we’d surely be better off without voting AT ALL.”
On or about November 3, 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators purchased an advertisement to promote a post on the ORGANIZATION-controlled Instagram account “Blacktivist” that read in part: “Choose peace and vote for Jill Stein. Trust me, it’s not a wasted vote.”
By in or around early November 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators used the ORGANIZATION-controlled “United Muslims of America” social media accounts to post anti-vote messages such as: “American Muslims [are] boycotting elections today, most of the American Muslim voters refuse to vote for Hillary Clinton because she wants to continue the war on Muslims in the middle east and voted yes for invading Iraq.”

Considering there was 95 other numbered items in the indictment, you can imagine the degree of specificity and depth involved in Friday’s Mueller indictment. As these revelations come to light, I am particularly disheartened by the reality that many of my Woke Brothers and Sisters must now face. They were “played.” “Clinton Fraudation,” “Killary,”, “Hillary4Prison,” “Rather not vote,” so much Russian machination. In embracing this artful ruse, far too many otherwise Woke black folks helped elect a Useful Idiot-in-Chief. As ignorance is no excuse for not knowing the law, unwitting is no excuse for this horrific unintended consequence. Elections have consequences! There is really only one more point I wish to underscore with this post. The charade is over…“Witch Hunt. Hoax. Fake News. Phony Scam. #NotAnyMore!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

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.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/rosenstein-mueller-indictment-russia/553601/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2018-02-16/rosenstein-outlines-election-meddling-charges-against-russians-video

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-16/u-s-charges-13-russians-3-companies-for-hacking-election

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-16/mueller-s-case-of-russian-meddling-in-u-s-election-highlights

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XoAf_I3ULwE

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/russian-influence-operation-attempted-suppress-black-vote-indictment/story?id=53185084

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-indictment-2016-elections-rod-rosenstein-announcement-today-2018-02-16/

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/16/deputy-ag-rod-rosenstein-on-grand-jury-indictment-of-russians.html

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/video/rosenstein-announces-indictment-of-13-russian-suspects/vi-BBJeffc

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2018/02/16/rosenstein-russian-nationals-indictment-sot.cnnmoney/index.html

America The Racist: Yeah, It’s Black History Month

Posted on February 14, 2018 by alphaheel

It’s time to “Break It Down!”

Happy Valentine’s Day!

As you know February is Black History Month. For 28 days Americans of African descent will be feted honored, and buffeted with an array of historical retrospectives ranging from Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, founder of Chicago, to Barack and Michelle Obama, two of the most famous Americans to call the Windy City home. But that’s not all. Over the course of the month a variety of groups and individuals will be making an effort to elevate a truth that has never been fully told, and that is too often flatly denied.

According to a study completed by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, The National Basketball Association (NBA) was 74.3 black during the 2015-16 season, and 81.7 percent of the players were people of color. The study determined that 18.3 percent of the League’s players were white (including Europeans), while 22.3 percent were international. That translated into 43 white Americans spread across 30 NBA teams. However, eight teams did not have a white player at the start of that season.

On the basis of the preceding summary, it may sound as though the NBA is ground zero for the emergence of the black nouveau riche in America. That might be one way to look at it. Another view might be that it is an oasis in the midst of a sprawling desert of despair for many black folks. The reality is the preceding statement is many African Americans’ truth.

From time to time someone with a commanding profile steps up, takes a megaphone and shouts the truth from the mountaintop. Enter Gregg Popovich, an NBA icon. You may know Pop as the Head Coach of the 5-time NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, or as the guy who hired the first full-time, salaried female Assistant Coach in NBA history, or as the next Head Coach of Team USA, the Men’s Olympic Basketball Team. Is that high profile enough for you?

During the month of February, the NBA celebrates Black History Month in a variety of ways. The league honors trailblazers like Earl Lloyd, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Chuck Cooper for breaking the league’s color barrier in 1950. Individual teams look back at their respective pasts. Players wear special gear, including sneakers and warm-up shirts to commemorate those who have come before. For the primarily African American league, the month of special activities serves as recognition of, and acknowledgment that the giant steps the NBA has taken toward international success and prominence have come as a result of strength, sacrifices, and contributions of a great many people, on the court and off of it, over the years.

In addition, they also call to the forefront of our minds how much further we all have to go. That was the aspect that Coach Popovich was most interested in discussing when he was asked about his thoughts on Black History Month, Monday, prior to a game between the Spurs and the Utah Jazz.

Popovich is known as a no-nonsense, give short shrift to mundane post-game interview questions kinda guy. He’s also quite well-known for speaking his mind on pertinent social issues of the day. Given the latter, it was not at all surprising that just a couple of days ago; he framed the importance of Black History Month in stark, blunt truth terms:

“I think it’s pretty obvious,” he told reporters. “The league is made up of a lot of black guys. To honor that and understand it is pretty simplistic. How would you ignore that? But more importantly, we live in a racist country that hasn’t figured it out yet. And it’s always important to bring attention to it, even if it angers some people. The point is, you have to keep it in front of everybody’s nose so they understand it still hasn’t been taken care of and we have a lot of work to do.”

As implied above, Popovich, who matriculated at the Air Force Academy, and who served five years in the military, has frequently voiced his displeasure with the state of affairs in the U.S. political system and broader discourse — has spoken about the importance of recognizing that many of the issues central to black history in the United States aren’t really “history” at all. Translation…they are not relegated to the past; rather, they are very much present day concerns.

For example, Coach Popovich said last February:

“Well, it’s a remembrance, and a bit of a celebration in some ways. It sounds odd because we’re not there yet, but it’s always important to remember what has passed and what the black population is experiencing now. It’s a celebration of some of the good things that have happened, and a reminder that there’s a lot more work to do.

But more than anything, I think if people take the time to think about it, I think it is our national sin. It always intrigues me when people come out with, ‘I’m tired of talking about that,’ or ‘Do we have to talk about that again?’ And the answer is, ‘You’re damned right we do.’ Because it’s always there, and it’s systemic, in the sense that when you talk about opportunity, it’s not about, ‘Well, if you lace up your shoes and you work hard, then you can have the American dream.’ That’s a bunch of hogwash.

If you were born white, you automatically have a monstrous advantage – educationally, economically, culturally, in this society and all the systemic roadblocks that exist, whether it’s in a judicial sense, a neighborhood sense with laws, zoning, education. We have huge problems in that they are very complicated, but take leadership, time, and real concern to try to solve. It’s a tough one; because people don’t rally want to face it.

In all likelihood, that includes many NBA fans, and no doubt, many Spurs fans, who might appreciate Popovich’s gifts as a coach and executive, but might not look so kindly on his assessment of the U.S. as a “racist country.” Regardless of whether all those watching, listening to, and/or reading his words share his viewpoint, it doesn’t appear that Coach Popovich is going to be dissuaded from espousing the legit truth, anytime soon.

Love it or hate it, that’s the good news. “America The Racist: Yeah, It’s Black History Month!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

Consult the links below for more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2759238-gregg-popovich-says-we-live-in-a-racist-country-talks-black-history-month

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/sport/popovich-racist-country-trnd/index.html?src=rss

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/spurs/2018/02/13/spurs-gregg-popovich-racist-country-black-history-month/332180002/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gregg-popovich-black-history-month_us_5a833cc0e4b0cf06751f3c1e

http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/13/popovich-we-live-in-a-racist-country/

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a17512020/gregg-popovich-black-history-month/

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/popovich-on-importance-of-black-history-month-in-nba-we-live-in-a-racist-country/

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/13/gregg-popovich-black-history-month-nba

https://sports.yahoo.com/gregg-popovich-nba-celebrating-black-history-month-live-racist-country-183854711.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9oumQWuZXI

Trump Indicts Dems as Un-American & Treasonous: What About the GOP?

Posted on February 7, 2018 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

At a Monday afternoon rally of the faithful, his faithful, to be precise, in Blue Ash, Ohio, #45 lobbed more verbal grenades. This time he targeted Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, in general, and members of the Black Caucus, in particular, most of whom did not clap and (in his view) appropriately, or sufficiently render themselves deferential and laudatory, during the course of his 80-minute long State of the Union (SOTU) Address.

It is well established that Trump is not just comfortable calling people, and some times whole countries, or entire continents, names, he is clearly predisposed to doing so. One day Haiti and African nations are shithole countries; another day, Democrats are un-American and traitorous. And that’s not the half of it. During the GOP Primaries he coined derogatory nicknames for many of his opponents. Most of his opponents and the folks who supported them thought he was an egomaniacal bully, totally unsuited to leading our nation.

Fast-forward to January 20, 2017, and Mr. Trump’s narcissistic bent, in tandem with his massive insecurities led him to assert that his inauguration was the largest in the history. Suffice it to say it was not. Suffice it to say, in addition to having raised name-calling to an art form, he has elevated truth avoidance (how do you like that euphemism) to previously unmeasured levels. According to the Washington Post (WaPo), which Trump supporters routinely call fake news, Mr. Trump made misleading statements, false claims, and or untruthful statements more than 2,000 times from January 20^th to December 31^st, 2017. By the paper’s calculation, he practiced this level of deception on average, 5.6 times per day.

Often when reports surface addressing Mr. Trump’s propensity to elude truthful commentary, his supporters counter that a similar evaluation of previous Presidents would yield similar results. The New York Times (NYT) took accepted this challenge and evaluated statements made by Mr. Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama. It found, using the same criteria, that Mr. Trump articulated 6 times as many false, misleading, or untrue statements in 10 months, as President Obama did in 8 years.

The NYT used a considerably more relaxed standard than WaPo. On the one hand, Trust looks much better, which will undoubtedly make his supporters feel much better. However, that will probably last only until they see that it makes Mr. Obama look almost saintly. In Mr. Trump’s first 10 months in office, the NYT reported he told 103 separate untruths, many of them repeatedly. President Obama, their research found, told 18 over his entire eight-year tenure. That is an average of about 124 a year for #45, and two a year for Mr. Obama.

So what about those un-American, treasonous Democrats? In the midst of a Trump-friendly crowd in Ohio, on a Monday afternoon in February, a couple of weeks into his second year in office, Mr. Trump was obviously feeling ecstatic about the recent release of the Nunes Memo, which he has repeatedly declared exonerates him of any charges of collusion or obstruction. He was there, ostensibly to tout a stellar economy, for which he has taken total credit.

An interesting thing happened on the way to his happy ending. In the middle of his speech, while he was delivering his oft-practiced spiel about the economy, split screens from virtually all the news outlets carrying the speech showed an up-to-the-minute display of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Ironically, as Trump crowed, the concurrent display, including on Fox News, the always favorable-to-Trump network, showed a Dow that was bottoming at around -1500 points for the day. It would ultimate recover to -1175, still the largest numerical drop in a single day. In full disclosure, because of the soaring numbers the Dow had reached (over 26,000 last week), that amounted to a percentage drop of only 4.6%, which percentage-wise, is significant, but nowhere near a record; not even in the Top 20 worst percentage drops.

And then…there was his SOTU rant. Somewhere along the way, Mr. Trump had an epiphany. For the entire year and a half he was campaigning for President, he expressed great disdain for Monthly Jobs Reports, Unemployment data, and anything else generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He suggested President Obama was cooking the books. “Funny” thing happened; Trump won the election, and suddenly the numbers are no longer fake, they are just plain marvelous.

In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has derived great pleasure in noting that black unemployment is at its lowest level in recorded history. Unlike much of what he says, that’s actually true. Of course, it doesn’t account for all those “full black unemployment years”…when such statistics were not recorded. Hispanic unemployment is also at record low levels.

As Mr. Trump stood and read his Obama-inspired teleprompter speech (they were bad when Obama did them, right?), he noticed that across the great divide that separated Democrats and Republicans during the SOTU Address, Democrats were significantly less responsive than the ever ready to applaud GOP. In fact, some of the Democrats didn’t applaud at all. A number of the members of the Black Caucus were adorned in Kente Cloth, and sat, respectfully, but unemotionally. The lack of adulation apparently stung the President, and Monday in Blue Ash, he let it be known. As he put it:

“You’re up there, you’ve got half the room going totally crazy, wild, they loved everything, they want to do something great for the country. And you’ve got the other side – even on positive news, really positive news – they were like death. And un-American. Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. Yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly didn’t seem to love our country very much.”

For a quick historical retrospective, the House Committee on Un-American Activities, created in 1938, investigated alleged disloyalty and subversive activities. It was a blueprint of sorts for Joseph McCarthy’s aggressive anti-communist campaign of the 1950’s. Treason is an even starker concept. It is defined as:

“Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.”

So let’s establish, for the record, none of what the Democrats did was rightfully characterized as either un-American, nor treason. However those who insist that we “Let Trump be Trump” demand that he be given free rein to act in this way. I offer, in contrast, Congressman Joe Wilson’s infamously shouted “You lie ” while President Obama was addressing a Joint Session of Congress. He noted the ACA would not provide coverage for illegal aliens. By the way, the non-partisan organization FactCheck.org subsequently debunked the claim that the ACA would mandate coverage for illegal aliens. Wilson was forced to apologize.

In case you’re wondering, President Obama did not respond to Mr. Wilson’s rude and obnoxious behavior by labeling his action un-American and treasonous; perhaps because as a Constitutional scholar, he knew the definitions of both terms, and that those words didn’t appropriately describe Wilson’s actions. Once again, that’s what you get when you let Trump be Trump. This week, “Trump Indicts Dems as Un-American & Treasonous: What About the GOP?”

I’m done; holla back!

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