Please enjoy a reprised edition of “Break It Down!” This post was originally published May 30, 2012 at: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com, reposted May 27, 2015 at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com as “Memorial Day: What Your Teacher Never Told You!,“ again on May 31, 2017, May 29, 2019, on May 27, 2020,  May 31, 2023, and last on May 29, 2024.

OK, so Memorial Day was earlier this week. You may be familiar with my holiday week philosophy, which is: make it easy on the readers, who are always otherwise engaged, no matter the holiday. Of course, in the process, I am also giving myself a break. That makes for a natural win-win scenario.

With that  overarching thought in mind, I will endeavor to apply three elementary rules of communication:

• Utilize the KISS Principle, AKA, Keep It Short & Simple (also Keep It Simple Stupid).
• Convey new or “not widely circulated” information.
• Always remember to emphasize points 1 and 2 above.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday to honor America’s fallen soldiers. It originated after the Civil War. Falling between Easter and Independence Day, it is often equated with a late spring break, or a pre-summer respite.

The weekend typically includes a cornucopia of sports.  For example this week included the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600, the NBA Playoffs, College Men’s Baseball playoffs, and College Women’s Softball competition, as well as others, such as the ACC Men’s Baseball Tournament Championship, and NCAA Women’s Lacrosse, both won, coincidentally, by the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. GO HEELS! 

Historically, there have been a plethora of other activities thrown into the mix. As a result, the holiday is sometimes almost lost in the shuffle. 

But wait; Memorial Day has a special cultural significance. In fact, it is because of that nexus we should pay special homage to this late spring holiday. 

In the annals of Trump 2.0, in which Don and his consiglieres are running it back, in new and improved (in his opinion) fashion. One of the more pronounced features of this new high octane Round 2 is a full-frontal assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. To date, the most visible aspect of this slash and burn effort is to target and un-exist positions, programs, and services designed to assist or employ Black people.

The irony here is, the first well-known observance of a Memorial Day type was held May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina. Over 250 Union soldiers that had been prisoners of war, died in Charleston, and were quickly buried in makeshift graves. A group of blacks, mostly freedmen, organized the observance and led cleanup and landscaping of the burial site.

Most of the nearly 10,000 people who attended were freedmen and their families. Of that number, 3.000 were children, newly enrolled in freedman’s schools. Mutual aid societies, black ministers, and white Northern missionaries were also in attendance.

David W. Blight, Professor of American History at Yale University, and Director of the school’s Gilder-Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, & Abolition, described the day this way:

“This was the first Memorial Day. African Americans invented Memorial Day in Charleston, South Carolina. What you have there is black Americans recently freed from slavery announcing to the world with their flowers, their feet, and their songs what the War had been about. What they basically were creating was the Independence Day of a Second American Revolution.”

Professor Blight conceded there is no evidence that the Charleston event led directly to the establishment of Memorial Day across the country.  But the record is clear they formed the earliest truly large-scale event, complete with media coverage.  Their effort was the prototype, if not the catalyst.

Having said that, I believe I honored the rules established above for this post:

• Told this story in a direct and uncomplicated fashion
• Presented information I am confident most readers did not know
• Recognized points 1 and 2, were accomplished and closed the post

Enjoy your bonus time and be sure to reflect on “Memorial Day: What Your Teacher Never Taught You (Edition VIII)!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime.

A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Memorial_Day

http://www.davidwblight.com/

http://www.snopes.com/military/memorialday.asp

http://www.dailykos.com/story2014/05/25/1301862/-Memorial-Day-Has-African-American-Roots-First-One-Was-Conducted-By-Former-Slaves#

http://en.wiktionary.org/

wiki/KISS_principle

wiki/American_Civil_War

http://www.yale.edu/glc/index.htm

http://www.civilwarhome.com/freedmen.htm

Memorial Day: What Your Teacher Never Taught You (Edition VIII)!

If You Know, You Know, But, If You Don’t…You Might Be A Trump Appointee

Habeas corpus is a bedrock legal principle requiring that government be able to produce a reason to detain someone. I lay this out at the start of this conversation for three reasons. First, because the average American may not know what it means, second, because the Trump administration is allegedly considering suspending Habeas Corpus, and third, one of Trump’s top lieutenants attempting to bluff her way through testifying before a Senate Committee doesn’t, or at least didn’t know what it means.

Yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on the Department of Homeland Security fiscal year ’26 budget. In the process, she was asked to define the aforementioned legal principle. Noem, in responding to Senator Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., responded: “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.”

Of course, habeas corpus is a legal principle that safeguards individuals from unlawful imprisonment by enabling them to petition the court to review the legality of the detention. President Trump likes to boast about hiring the best people. Simultaneously, he has engaged in a full-frontal assault on DEI and other remedies to historical disparities, especially in employment. That someone he placed in this key position was unable to correctly answer such a basic question about a fundamental tenet of a core responsibility of the job, is at best, tragicomic. But it was also the latest example of one of Trump’s so-called best people lacking the foundational heft to understand key elements of her job assignment. “If You Know, You Know; If You Don’t…You Might Be A Trump Appointee!”

I’m done; holla back!

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

If You Know, You Know; But If You Don’t…You Might Be A Trump Appointee

It’s time to Break It Down!

President Donald Trump has announced what liberally might be called his plan to accept a jet from Qatar for use as Air Force One. As word spread about the pending largess from a foreign government, particularly one with dubious ties to some of our most notorious adversaries, Trump has gone on the defensive, arguing it would be stupid not to accept the gift of the Qatari plane.

Surprisingly, at least a few of MAGA’s most dedicated and celebrated supporters beg to differ.

In an unusual departure from their typically predictable sycophancy, some MAGA media outlets and the voices behind them are activating their platforms to urge Trump to change his mind about this extraordinary and extravagant gift. Still others are asking Trump voters to reflect upon how they would react if a Democratic president endeavored to enact this very same plan. 

Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro said Monday on his podcast, “I think if we switched the names to Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, we’d all be freaking out on the right.” 

Shapiro also linked the potential Qatari deal with other reports of “influence peddling,” like Trump’s cryptocurrency sweepstakes.

Shapiro added, “The administration’s policy is too important for this sort of activity.” He emphasized that he wants Trump to succeed. “President Trump promised to drain the swamp. This is not, in fact, draining the swamp.”

Naturally, some Trump-aligned commentators and social media stars are echoing the president’s talking points about the luxury jet, including his insistence that only “stupid people” would turn down such a gift. Other MAGA media outlets are deflecting the criticism by sowing doubt about the media coverage of the controversy. After all, the non-MAGA media is considered the enemy of the people, by Trump and MAGA.

However, a surprising number of Trumpniks sound almost as outraged as the Democratic lawmakers who say accepting the plane would be profoundly unethical and possibly illegal.

Many of these right-wing critics, like Laura Loomer, predicated their objections on Qatar’s relationship with the militant group Hamas.

Key members of Hamas leadership have long been based in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Notably, Qatar reportedly agreed to expel Hamas officials last November.

Laura Loomer criticized Trump’s potential jet deal on Sunday and Monday by writing a series of anti-Qatar posts on X, including:

“This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true.” 

“And I say that as someone who would take a bullet for Trump. I’m so disappointed.”

Fox News host Mark Levin shared her post and wrote, “Ditto.”

For now, most of the conservative criticism has been leveled in social media spaces, not on the TV shows Trump is known to enjoy. The jet controversy has been only lightly covered on Fox News, the country’s dominant right-wing TV channel. The main story on Fox’s website about the matter on Monday was titled, “Trump rips ABC reporter for asking about accepting luxury jet from Qatar,” making it sound as though ABC was the problem.

In one outlier instance, “Fox & Friends” host Brian Kilmeade asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about the matter on Monday morning.

In responding, Leavitt framed it as a government-to-government transaction that would be done “in full compliance with the law.” In doing so, she sidestepped reports that Trump’s presidential library will take possession of the plane shortly before he leaves office, which of course, would ensure he can still use it.

The “Fox & Friends” host followed up by asking Leavitt, “Do you worry that if they give us something like this, they want something in return?” The press secretary said no because Trump “only works with the interest of the American public in mind.”

Kilmeade then dropped the subject, moving on to Mother’s Day.

Some other conservative media figures seem less inclined to move on.

Batya Ungar-Sargon, who has championed the MAGA movement on CNN and other channels, told Newsmax on Monday afternoon, “This is not a gift” from Qatar, it’s “a bribe.”

National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy wrote Monday that accepting the plane is “indefensible. The president and his flacks again demonstrate that they don’t grasp the concepts of constitutional duty and conflicts of interest.” He cited the “Trump family crypto venture” as another example.

Talk radio host Erick Erickson, who, like the National Review, has often criticized Trump from a conservative perspective, didn’t mince his condemnation of the potential jet gift.

On his Monday show, Erickson argued that Qatar is not a US ally (though the US government disagrees) and pointed out that Attorney General Pam Bondi, who reportedly signed off on the legality of the gift, was previously a paid lobbyist for Qatar.

“I think she’s opening Donald Trump up to legal trouble later,” Erickson said.

Later in the day, on X, Erickson observed that “even a lot of Trump supporters were not thrilled about the Qatar plane gift” when the initial reports surfaced on Sunday.

Erickson suggested bots are flooding X with pro-Trump propaganda, “a lot of small accounts I’ve never interacted with before are flooding my timeline insisting it is a great idea.”

“When MAGA Says: “Indefensible.” “It’s a bribe.” “Such a stain” on the administration!”

I’m done; holla back!

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

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/12/media/maga-media-shapiro-loomer-levin-trump-qatar-plane-gift

When MAGA Says: “Indefensible.” “It’s a bribe.” “Such a stain” on the administration

It’s time to Break It Down!

In the annals of U.S.-Canadian relations, yesterday will go down as odd, but not at all surprising. At least not if you’ve been following the interactions between the two neighboring countries and their leaders. Historically, the two countries have been, not just geographically adjacent, but longtime allies, robust trading partners, and frequent cross-border visitors. Transnational tourism has been a flourishing industry.

All those traditional connections began to be challenged, strained, even frayed, as Donald Trump emerged as America’s 47th President. He derided then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Governor Trudeau and referred to Canada as the 51^st state. At least that’s what he did on days when he placed them ahead of Greenland for extending/accepting that distinguished honor. He also accused Canada of treating the United States poorly because of horrible (for the U.S.) trade deals, negotiated by incompetent Presidents (a story for another day).

Due to dynamic social and political changes in Canada, Trudeau stepped aside early. Meanwhile, in the United States, President Trump continued to spout disparaging rhetoric about subsuming Canda, Greenland, the Panama Canal, and denigrating a variety of political leaders at home and abroad, in places such as our neighbors to the north and the south, respectively, Canada, and Mexico, as well as one of our key allies, Ukraine. Over the course of time, an interesting development occurred. The Canadian Left, which had been flailing under Trudeau, experienced a total about-face, and sent Mark Carney, a member of the Liberal Party, to a landslide victory.

Over the past couple of months, Carney, speaking for most Canadians, apparently, has continued to insist, Canada is not for sale. While bringing an affable personality, and unlike Volodymyr Zelensky, wearing a tailored suit to the White House, he also brought the simple, but firm message, Canada, and its 5,525-mile border, longest in the world, is not for sale, or annexation…or open to American statehood. Full stop.

Trump made a Real Estate analogy and suggested the design of the two countries, when viewed together was how it was meant to be. Carney responded, “As you know from Real Estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We’re sitting in one now. You know, Buckingham Palace that you visited as well, is another one. Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale. It won’t be for sale ever.”

With that statement, Carney for all practical purposes, accomplished what he had come to Washington to do; state in the clearest terms possible that his beloved O Canada is not amenable to becoming Canada, USA.

Trump being Trump, persisted, of course.

“Never say never,” Trump shrugged…as Carney mouthed the word “never” over and over, while sitting next to him, pointedly disregarding the impertinence of his neighbor from the south.

All things considered; it could have been worse. Trump didn’t call him Governor Carney, Vance didn’t accuse him of being disrespectful, and no one insulted his sartorial selection. “Never Say Never: Not Exactly Southern Hospitality!”

I’m done; holla back!

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

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/politics/trump-carney-canada-not-for-sale

Never Say Never: Not Exactly Southern Hospitality