It’s time to Break It Down!

Back during the spring and summer, when political campaigns initially heated up, there were a hand full of Democratic candidates, and a host of Republicans who fancied themselves as possessing the Right Stuff to talk, fund raise, and politic their way to the White House in 2016. In the ensuing 5-6 months, as spring gave way to summer, only to be replaced by fall, the end of Daylight Savings Time, and soon to be winter, a lot has changed. Two of the five Democrats have thought better of their efforts and shelved their aspirations, at least for this cycle. Slowly, but surely, the republican field is winnowing too, though admittedly, at a slower pace.

There is one thing, against all odds, at least those of prognosticators, that has not changed. Donald Trump shot out of the gate as the leader of the GOP pack, early on. Almost everybody who knows anything about the subject, and quite a few folks, who like me, do not profess to be so insightful, presumed, guessed, and in a number of instances even argued that the Trump phenomenon was a fleeting thing; indeed, a fluke.

The typical reasoning went along the lines of two or three key thematic scenarios.

• It’s the political silly season; it will quickly come to an end.
• The Republican base is tired of “politicians,” but they will revert to a mainstream candidate before the proverbial schiznit hits the oscillating air mover.
• Who was leading in the polls at this time in 2007; where are they now?

The reality is, any or all of the above could still come to pass, and Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, or Marco Rubio…OK, maybe not Bush, but Cruz or Rubio, just to name a couple of traditional politicians, could, if not exactly catapult, gradually overtake the duo of anti-politicians, Donald Trump, and Dr. Ben Carson, and assume the lead position for the prize of the GOP Nomination for President.

While I’ve already conceded not to be an expert in matters such as this, I must take a moment to say, I have been an outlier from the beginning. That is to say, I say as long ago as June, I believed…not in Donald Trump; I don’t, but I did, and still do believe that he could capture his Party’s nod for the nomination.

My belief is tied to the observation that there is a hugely frustrated segment of Americans that did not want Barack Obama to become President, hate the fact that he won, hate it more that he won twice, and over seven years later still can’t figure out how he did that.

That segment of the population views Hillary Clinton, whom most of them consider the likely Democratic nominee, as an extension of President Obama. Even though they don’t think either Bernie Sanders or Martin O’Malley will beat Mrs. Clinton, they view them, or anyone else who might be the Democratic standard bearer as anathema.

One of the things I find most curious about prospective Republican voters, and Trump supporters in particular, is their apparent propensity to embrace fact-free arguments, debate points, and by definition, illogic. From my vantage point, Mr. Trump could benefit from a few doses of Pentothal, but I digress. The Trump Campaign has thrived, and has done so, not so much because it has been controversy averse, but rather because the candidate appears not only to like it, but to immerse himself in it, one after another, the more the merrier.

He utilized hyperbole right out of the gate to engender support from what has proved to be an adoring and loyal following. During the announcement of his candidacy in June, he engaged in a number of racist, xenophobic rants about Mexican immigrants. In his initial foray, he exclaimed:

“They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

As a generalization, that was bad enough. But The Donald was not through. In a post announcement interview, he doubled down:

“And it’s people from countries other than Mexico also. We have drug dealers coming across, we have rapists, we have killers, we have murderers.”

I’m not quite sure what distinction he was making between killers and murderers, but, once again, I digress. There was unquestionably some expectation, by traditionalists, if not reasonable thinking people, that surely the uproar over such a blatant and unbridled derisive commentary on an entire country would result in Mr. Trump walking back at least some measure of his assertion. I guess those people weren’t watching the personality that is Trump during his run on “The Apprentice.” Retreat is simply not his style; apologies are for losers.

Mr. Trump quickly glided from the Mexican controversy to insisting that John McCain is not a war hero, and from that to revealing Lindsey Graham’s cell phone number on national TV. All of this unrepentant, over the top behavior, while historic in its own right, constituted only the prelims. Pulitzer Prize winning POLITIFACT reports a litany of claims that Mr. Trump made, repeated, and defended, are found wanting…of facts and truth. I understand the Right routinely dismisses facts as Left-leaning concoctions that are inequitably applied between Democrats and Republicans. However, to paraphrase that great political figure Mitt Romney, when speaking of President Obama, Mr. Trump may be entitled to his own plane, but he is not entitled to his own facts.

To bring this discourse down to the brass tacks, here are a few examples of Mr. Trump’s loose relationship with truth, according to POLITIFACT. Mr. Trump said:

• Our real unemployment [rate] is anywhere from 18 to 20%. Don’t believe the 5.6. Don’t believe it. … The real number is anywhere from 18 to 19 and maybe even 21%.”

POLITIFACT says we see no factual basis for this claim. Trump is going well beyond the exaggeration that Mitt Romney made during the 2012 campaign that the “real” unemployment rate was 15%. And back then, the official rate was 8.3%, compared with the current rate — which is actually 5.5%, not the 5.6% Trump cited. Mr. Trump said:

• He would have blocked new Ford plants in Mexico by threatening to impose a 35% tax on vehicles and parts made in Mexico and shipped to the U.S.

But only Congress can impose taxes and such a tax would violate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Mr. Trump said:

• The five Taliban leaders exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl “are now back on the battlefield trying to kill us.”

But all five remain in Qatar, where they continue to be monitored and are subject to a travel ban, according to the State Department. False. Mr. Trump said:

• In a misleading claim that health care premium costs are going “up 29, 39, 49 and even 55%.”

He’s talking about some proposed rate increases on the individual market that still need regulatory approval. There are also proposed rate decreases or single-digit increases that did not have to be submitted for review. Mr. Trump said:

• “Last quarter, it was just announced our gross domestic product — a sign of strength, right? But not for us — it was below zero. Whoever heard of this? It’s never below zero.”

Trump messed up his economic terms; the gross domestic product was not “zero.” The size of the U.S. economy — which is what gross domestic product is — is in the trillions of dollars and not anywhere close to zero. The growth in the gross domestic product has been zero, but it’s been below zero 42 times over 68 years. That’s a lot more than “never.” We rate his claim Pants on Fire! Mr. Trump said:

• “Our enemies are getting stronger and stronger, by the way, and we as a country are getting weaker. Even our nuclear arsenal doesn’t work,” Trump said. “It came out recently they have equipment that is 30 years old. They don’t know if it worked.”

There have been problems with the U.S. nuclear program, but they have tended to be problems of people—either mismanaging the moving of weapons or personal behavior. The weapons themselves appear to be functioning fine. The Defense Department and the Energy Department are required by law to certify the safety, security, and effectiveness of the arsenal on an annual basis. While some of the weapons are aging, the United States has been engaged in a modernization effort that will cost roughly $35 billion a year during the next decade, which comes to 5 percent to 6 percent of planned national-defense spending. The bill could reach $1 trillion over the next 30 years. We rated Trump’s statement False. Mr. Trump said:

• “When did we beat Japan at anything?” Trump asked. “They send their cars over by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn’t exist, folks. They beat us all the time.”

There aren’t many Chevys in Japan, but they do exist. In 2014, Chevrolet sold 597 cars in Japan. No, we are not forgetting any zeroes at the end of that figure. Granted that’s not a lot, and Trump has a point that Japan does better in the United States on car sales. But he should have used more accurate words to make his point. We rated his statement Mostly False. Mr. Trump said:

• “Islamic terrorism is eating up large portions of the Middle East. They’ve become rich. I’m in competition with them,” Trump said. “They just built a hotel in Syria. Can you believe this? They built a hotel. When I have to build a hotel, I pay interest. They don’t have to pay interest, because they took the oil that, when we left Iraq, I said we should’ve taken.”

Trump has facts muddled here, too. The Islamic State didn’t build a hotel in Syria; they took over an existing hotel in Iraq. And they’re not using it to lure luxury travelers; it houses Islamic State commanders. We rated his statement False.

And then there are more recent statements by Donald Trump:

• “President Barack Obama “wants to take in 250,000 (people) from Syria.”

POLITIFACT: Not even close. Pants On Fire!

• “Crime statistics show blacks kill 81 percent of white homicide victims.”  

POLITIFACT: Totally wrong stats. Pants on Fire!

• “I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as the World Trade Center collapsed.”

POLITIFACT: No one remembers this but Trump. Pants on Fire!

• “The New York Police Department used to have surveillance going on in and around mosques in New York City. … Our mayor totally cut that out.”

POLITIFACT: One controversial program was shuttered. Half True!

• The federal government is sending refugees to states with governors who are “Republicans, not to the Democrats.”

POLITIFACT: Private and faith-based groups decide, not President Obama!

• “There are no jobs to be had.”

FactCheck.org: In fact, there were 5.4 million job openings recorded at the end of April, the most in 15 years.

There are a host of items not touched in this quick run down. Mr. Trump, like most GOP Presidential candidates, has inveighed ardently against Planned Parenthood. He has attacked at least a couple of women, including Fox News Journalist Megyn Kelly, and fellow GOP aspirant, Carly Fiorina. Recently, he appeared to mock a reporter with a disability. As usual, he just denied it, and claimed he didn’t know the reporter. In turn, the reporter claims to have interviewed Trump a number of times in his office. You know whom Trump’s supporters believe.

His antics have incited little resistance from his Republican competitors. That is in part because early on, when a few of them exercised the temerity to speak up, their poll numbers tanked. Somewhat as a result, most of the remaining candidates refrained from taking on Goliath. Then, at least one, Ted Cruz, treated him with kid gloves, allegedly operating under the theory that Trump would eventually fade, and he would be the beneficiary of those free agent voters.

As Christmas approaches, soon to be followed by the early primaries, candidates, the Party apparatus, and more than a few voters are beginning to contemplate the potential harsh reckoning of Trump, the GOP Nominee. It has been rumored that there is even a draft Romney movement being considered, if not already underway. I don’t know what will happen. I do know I will not be shocked if Donald Trump is the last (GOP) man standing. However, if he should advance, we already have a pretty good idea about the essence of Donald Trump. The far more revealing intel, in my ever so humble opinion, is what that possibility says about…”What Trump Supporters Believe: Hyperbole, Dissembling, and Falsehoods!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.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://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2015/jun/17/fact-checking-donald-trump/

http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/17/1394019/-Trump-calls-Mexican-immigrants-drug-dealers-and-rapists-crickets-from-the-GOP-field

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/republicans-stay-silent-in-face-of-trumps-bigotry-and-misogyny/2015/08/26/b53cfd78-4c32-11e5-902f-39e9219e574b_story.html

http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/27/media/donald-trump-serge-kovaleski-disability/index.html?iid=ob_homepage_deskrecommended_pool&iid=obnetwork

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/opinions/opinion-roundup-politicians-lies/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/politics/donald-trump-2016-election/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/01/opinions/granholm-trump-exit-presidential-race/index.html

http://www.factcheck.org/2015/06/trump-tramples-facts/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephan-richter/trump-vs-kelly-just-whos-the-bimbo_b_7968492.html

http://www.msn.com/en-us/video/watch/donald-trump-attacks-carly-fiorinas-looks/vi-AAe7RGB

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-cheering-jersey-911/story?id=35355447

It’s time to Break It Down!

Originally posted on November 24, 2010, and prior to today, subsequently on November 27, 2013, and November 26, 2014 by alpha heel.

I just can’t! It’s only hump day, but there have been a number of weighty news items worthy of reporting already this week.

• We’ve seen video of a #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) Movement protester being assaulted at a leading Presidential Candidate’s rally, merely for exercising his Constitutional 1^st Amendment rights. *
• The same leading Presidential Candidate, when discussing the matter Sunday morning on Fox News, said, “Maybe he should have been roughed up because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing.” What he and two other protesters were doing was shouting, “Dump the Trump,” and “Black Lives Matter.”
• A leading Presidential Candidate retweeted bogus crime statistics, inflating the role of blacks in violent crime, suggesting African Americans are responsible for most white homicides; deflating the role of whites. *
• A leading Presidential Candidate alleged to have seen (on TV) thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks; a claim numerous media outlets have denied. What’s eye opening about this claim is, no media outlet has been able to produce footage of this alleged indiscretion…not even Fox News. (That should tell you all you need to know about that matter).
• Despite most news services dismissing the leading Presidential Candidate’s claim, and none supporting it, the candidate continues to insist he saw it, and in fact, has insisted he is owed an apology.
• The head of this leading Candidate’s SuperPac told CNN Monday that the BLM movement “don’t really” have a right to protest at Donald Trump rallies for the same reason that “I wouldn’t go into a black church and start screaming “white lives matter.”” Say what? The apparent logic: both telling and repulsive…that just as Donald Trump rallies are for white people and the #BlackLivesMatter movement isn’t welcome; black churches are for black people and those who would scream “White lives matter!” aren’t welcome. Oy vey!
• Another leading Presidential Candidate said he saw the same footage, but subsequently said that what he saw occurred in Middle Eastern countries, not in the Garden State.
• A Pennsylvania Police Chief was caught using the N-word. *
• A District Attorney released a video of a black teen getting shot 16 times by a Chicago Police Officer. *
• White Supremacists shot 5 BLM protesters in Minneapolis, after threatening, online, to do so days earlier. *

*Thank you James E. Ford for allowing me to e-pick your brain; ’06!

The ten bulleted items above are not just low hanging fruit; they are all national issues. Of course, we are also knee deep in collaborating with the community of nations to thwart ISIS (ISIL/IS, whichever you prefer). So yesterday’s news was dominated by reports that Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet that entered its air space.

The international plot thickens, as if it were not already sufficiently dicey. Since we are currently working with France, Turkey, Russia, et. al., to diffuse the ISIS problem, it’s fair to say we have 99 problems, and Turkey shooting down the Russian fighter “is” now one of them.

I could go on, but I won’t. Or, as I said in the opening sentence, “I just can’t!” Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.

As in the past, since it is Thanksgiving Week, this post will deviate from the standard fare. I know that travel schedules (impeded by weather events this year), meal planning, family time, shopping, football, parades, and if there is any time remaining, relaxation, will dominate this week. However, it is Wednesday, so there shall be a blog! It is definitely brief.

Those among us who have perfected humility, and ascended to a genuine Nirvana state, have no doubt, also elevated giving thanks to an art form. The rest of us must fully invest our appreciation in the notion, “That’s why we have Thanksgiving!”

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, which kicks off what we commonly refer to as the Holiday Season. Almost instinctively, Thanksgiving and Christmas come to mind. Yet, there is so much more than that to the Season.

Over the next 54 days, many of us will enjoy succulent feasting at Thanksgiving, exchange gifts and contribute to the needy during Hanukkah. We will buy, give, exchange, and/or receive gifts at Christmas, eat, drink, and celebrate the 7 Principles of Kwanzaa, and party and toast the dawn of 2011 (2014/2015/2016), on New Year’s Day. We will honor the life and works of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on MLK Day. In addition, even in these tough (though improving) economic times, this weekend, millions of Americans will pay (literally) homage to our most celebrated of shoppers’ holiday weekends, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, by rising early, and proceeding to scour the aisles for those perfect gifts…and if not perfect, at least cheap, relatively speaking. In 2015, there are even some precociously enterprising businesses that will start the shopping clock Thursday. Sigh!

In past years, I have recounted my reasons for being thankful. This year I find that I have more reasons than ever to sit contemplatively in humble repose, and affirm boldly, that I know, without caveat, not only the goodness, no the greatness of God, but also of his inestimable and inexhaustible beneficence. I thank Him for deliverance, and for imbuing me with the sense and sensibility to discern the distinction between kairos and chronos, Greek concepts for God’s time, and man’s time, respectively.

Eons ago, when I was a college student, I pledged a fraternity. It is the Oldest, Boldest, and Coldest, but I digress. The point of this reference is that during the erstwhile pledge process, as prospective initiates, we were required to learn a series of poems. There were many, each selected to convey a specific life lesson. Many of them have stayed with me, but none more than Invictus, written by English poet, William Ernest Henley (1849-1903). The Latin translation for Invictus is Undefeated. You may recall it, but just in case, see it below:

Invictus (Latin for Undefeated) By William Ernest Henley:

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

So, as you go about your way tomorrow, and all the tomorrows that follow, recognize that Thanksgiving, at its core, is not simply a day on the calendar. It is a spirit that dwells within us, an impulse that prompts us to thank God (for our being undefeated), and for the graciousness to share His blessings with our fellow men and women. Indeed, everyday is “A Time for Giving Thanks Redux!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: https://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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ernest_Henley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invictus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year’s_Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a39928/donald-trump-black-lives-matter-rally/

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/22/black-activist-punched-at-donald-trump-rally-in-birmingham/

 http://www.factcheck.org/2015/11/trump-retweets-bogus-crime-graphic/

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/22/donald-trumps-outrageous-claim-that-thousands-of-new-jersey-muslims-celebrated-the-911-attacks/

 https://duckduckgo.com/?q=trump+says+he’s+owed+an+apology+over+9/11+claim&t=osx

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD2doITEUtM

 http://www.ibtimes.com/ben-carson-says-he-saw-video-footage-muslims-new-jersey-celebrating-911-report-2196953

 http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-carson-says-he-saw-video-u-s-muslims-cheering-n468486

 http://thegrio.com/2015/11/24/police-chief-apologizes-n-word/

 http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/19/chicago-laquan-mcdonald-police-shooting-video

 http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/us/minneapolis-jamar-clark-police-shooting/index.html

It’s time to Break It Down!

We are closing in on the holidays and the change of seasons; both on the calendar and politically. In just over a week many of us will observe Thanksgiving. In December, there is Hanukkah, followed by, for those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, transitioning into winter, quickly followed by Christmas, or the “Happy Holiday Season,” if you roll like that. In January, we will commemorate the King Holiday. Then comes February, politics move front and center, and it’s on! The month alone will include The Iowa Caucuses, the New Hampshire Primary, Nevada Democratic and Republican Caucuses (on different dates), and the South Carolina Primary.

In the early (pre-voting) stages of the 2016 Presidential Campaign, the Democratic and Republican Parties have moved on noticeably different trajectories. The Democrats started with five principal candidates:

• Hillary Clinton
• Bernie Sanders
• Martin O’Malley
• Lincoln Chaffee (Withdrawn)
• Jim Webb (Withdrawn)

After the first Democratic Debate, two candidates, Chaffee and Webb withdrew. Neither registered a significant percentage in the polls, nor crafted a message that resonated with Democratic voters. Arguably, they did themselves, their would-be campaign financiers, and the electorate a favor, albeit a tad late. One might surmise, keen observers are wondering how long will it take Mr. O’Malley to get this message.

Over on the GOP side of the ledger, a fundamentally unexpected, but explainable phenomenon is unfolding. First the race started with a large number of candidates who at least considered themselves serious threats to claim the Party’s Nomination. The festivities kicked off with seventeen candidates:

• Donald Trump
• Jeb Bush
• Scott Walker (Withdrawn)
• Ben Carson
• Mike Huckabee
• Ted Cruz
• Marco Rubio
• Rand Paul
• Chris Christie
• John Kasich
• Rick Perry (Withdrawn)
• Rick Santorum
• Bobby Jindal (Withdrawn)
• Carly Fiorina
• Lindsey Graham
• George Pataki
• Jim Gilmore

At first blush, a glance at the list of GOP contenders, and in some instances, I use the word loosely, reveals a wealth of experience in politics. The slate includes Governors, former Governors, Senators, former Senators, and conspicuously, three individuals who have never been elected to any office.

Initially, handicappers applied conventional wisdom to this race, and predicted Dr. Carson, Mrs. Fiorina, and Mr. Trump (that’s just Alpha Order; nothing sinister) would soon lose their sizzle and appeal to voters, and quickly wind down their campaigns, bowing out gracefully. Well, maybe not Mr. Trump (bowing out gracefully, that is).

That was initially. A funny thing happened to the race as polling ensued. First, Mr. Trump, yes, the Donald, he of Reality TV, and Casino fame, rocketed to the top of the charts. After the first Debate, Mrs. Fiorina quickly moved up to the upper tier of GOP Candidates. Then, in what now seems an inexorable evolutionary turn, Dr. Carson gradually made his way to the front of the class…I mean, the top of the polls. Just like that, the three political neophytes found themselves running at or near the head of the pack.

After recalibrating the bases for their projections (which tends to be necessary when you are wrong at every turn), the prognosticators, political writers, talking heads, and handicappers re-spun their collective narrative. Alas, this was the election cycle when Republicans opted to turn the process on its ear because they were disillusioned with politics as usual, and as result, fed up with the usual politicians. But, we were assured, this was just a passing fancy, and effectively the political silly season, as Jeb Bush called the situation. It would soon pass, he predicted, confidently.

That could still happen; but it might not. We are now less than a year from Election Day 2016, and roughly six weeks away from the Iowa Caucuses on February 1^st. Already, a fair amount of heretofore conventional wisdom is being cast in the never gonna happen category. That is to say, Jeb Bush who just a few months ago was thought to be nearly a lock for “Nominee-in-waiting,” is now viewed as the guy who displaced “W” as the least capable, and most unready for Prime Time Bush. Who saw that coming?

So, while there is still time for the erstwhile GOP Cognoscenti to act out its cream imitation, and rise to the top, a number of operatives in GOP inner circles are getting a little nervous. They are, apparently, concerned that a guy who gets his military intel from “the TV shows,” a guy who asserts that the pyramids were grain silos built by Joseph, and a woman whom one of those guys claims drove her company into a disastrous tailspin, from which it still has not recovered, are all at, or lurking near the top of GOP polls.

Meanwhile, to counter this, we are hearing some in the GOP brain trust have embraced a brilliant, OK, an idea; Let’s go get Mitt. You remember Mitt, right? Just in case you don’t, here’s a quick 10-point primer to prick your memory.

During the dog days of the GOP 2012 Presidential Campaign, when Willard Mitt Romney was in the thick of it, he said some interesting things. Among them:

1. On Fox News, the reason he did not talk about the troops – “You don’t go through a laundry list; you talk about the things you think are important.”
2. On NASCAR – mocking a group of fans wearing plastic ponchos – “I like those fancy raincoats you bought. Really sprung for the big bucks.” Also, trying to everyman it, Romney said, “I have some great friends who are NASCAR team owners.”
3. The infamous 47% comments – “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it. My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
4. On his disdain for social programs; not concerned about the very poor – “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there.”
5. He earned a round of pants on fire fact checks for falsely accusing Obama of apologizing for America, after being caught on tape promising his wealthy donors that if there were an “opportunity” like a hostage situation he would “take advantage of it”. – Romney wrote in an email within hours of the attacks but embargoed until midnight so as to avoid looking like he was taking advantage of a tragedy, “The Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.” Later he went on about Obama’s imaginary apology tour, forgetting that it was he who had been forced to apologize in Britain over the summer.
6. His Olympics gaffe, in which he suggested Britain was not prepared for the games – “You know, it’s hard to know just how well it were turn out- will turn out. There are a few things that were disconcerting, the stories about the- private security firm not having enough people- the sup- supposed strike of the immigration and customs officials, that obviously is not something which is encouraging. Because in the games, there- there are three parts that makes games successful.”
7. His rationalization for why his sons were not fighting for the country – “One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected.”
8. Syria is Iran’s route to the sea – Romney said (again), “Syria is Iran’s . . . route to the sea.”
9. Describing the withdrawal of the troops from Iraq – “It is my view that the withdrawal of all of our troops from Iraq by the end of this year is an enormous mistake, and failing by the Obama administration. The precipitous withdrawal is unfortunate – it’s more than unfortunate, I think it’s tragic.”
10. The memorable binders full of women – “I went to a number of women’s groups and said, “Can you help us find folks,” and they brought us whole binders full of women.”

The Mitt 2012 era was so bad, the Republican National Committee (RNC) convened and drafted a plan to make sure the Party never-ever found itself in such a woeful position again. The head of the RNC put it this way:

“I don’t think you can draw any quick conclusions other than the fact that we lost and we know that. But in order to get back in the game, you’ve got to look at and do a full autopsy of what happened.”

Mr. Priebus noted that the Party would dive deep into analysis of the election, and devise a four-year game plan intended to ensure that they avoid the mistakes of 2012. At that time many Republicans called for a “bigger tent” Party, one that will be more representative of our changing demographics. I suppose they deduced that among the reasons President Obama secured victory included winning among these groups:

     Women – 55%

     Black – 93%

     Hispanic – 67%

     Asian – 73%

     Jewish – 69%

     Other – 57%

     Age 18-29 – 60%

     Age 30-44 – 52%

     Unmarried – 67%

     Self-Identified Gay – 76%

     Income Under $30,000 – 63%

     Income $30,000 – $49,000 – 57%

Given the numbers above, The Trump/Carson position on building a wall, and Mrs. Fiorina’s attacks on Planned Parenthood do not appear to bode particularly well for shoring up key areas in which the Party’s Flagship Team missed the boat in 2012. However, the GOP obviously devoted a significant amount of mental capital to contemplating the return on investment (or lack thereof) in the politics of hate, derision, and various and sundry slurs.  Now all they need to do is get their full complement of players on board. Who knows; perhaps this time around, Mr. Romney is that guy.

I doubt it!

The new and improved GOP, coming your way…“Rise of the Phoenix: Romney 2016?” I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney

http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Mitt-Romney-Presidential-election-2016/2014/05/06/id/569858/

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/13/politics/mitt-romney-2016-still-not-running/index.html

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/romney-2016-is-for-real/article/2553932

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/us/mitt-romney-2016-presidential-election.html?_r=0

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/11/12/mitt-romney-friends-are-still-trying-plan-out-his-presidential-campaign/pPIGa2jbDmbD0ucWqoRxoK/story.html

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865641549/Will-push-for-another-Romney-run-lead-to-endorsement-of-Rubio.html?pg=all

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/James-Carville-Mitt-Romney-president/2014/08/28/id/591547/

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2015/09/09/oh-my-god-make-the-romney-2016-rumor-mill-stop-open-thread-n2048001

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mitt-romney-2016-presidential-run/story?id=28604278

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/27/priebus-its-time-for-a-full-autopsy-of-2012/

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2013/04/03/back-to-the-gop-future/

It’s time to Break It Down!

Six years ago, I wrote a post in recognition of Veteran’s Day, and the service personnel we as a nation honor on that day. In 2009, as is the case this year, Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, and as such, the stars aligned perfectly for this week’s blog. As our nation continues to grapple with conflict overseas, I decided to edit/re-post the Veteran’s Day 2009 Edition of “Break It Down!”

It’s worth noting that while our fighting forces officially exited Iraq in December 2011, we still have military personnel there.  Our forces are expected to leave Afghanistan (the other hotspot referenced in the initial post) by 2016.  Also, for the record, we have a variety of personnel in Iran, Syria, Libya, Mali, Somalia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Yemen…lest you think the world is a peaceful place.

Enjoy your day, and if you have yet to take the opportunity to thank a Veteran, reach out and do so at some point today. Moreover, for my part, to all of you who are Veterans, “Thank you for your service.”

Many of you know, or at least faintly recall that I frequently alter the blog format to integrate holiday traditions into the discussion. Often holidays are expanded by days away from work, long weekends, travel, and a host of leisure activities. In those cases, I prefer to scale back in recognition that aside from road map directions, GPS instructions, and the like, very little reading will be taking place.

As most Americans know, today is Veterans Day. At a time when the United States is engaged in twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and working fervently to ease tensions in a trio of other hot spots, including Pakistan, Iran, and North Korea, American service men and women are regularly front and center. The unfathomable horror visited upon soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas last week makes the value and vulnerability of one of our greatest resources resonate even more palpably. But what do we really know about this day that has been set aside to honor real American heroes and sheroes?

Well, first, Veterans Day is not Memorial Day, and vice-versa. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Day is intended largely to honor Living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served – not only those who died – have sacrificed and done their duty. Memorial Day honors those veterans who died in the service of their country, particularly those killed in combat, or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.

We also know that Veterans Day is a different kind of federal holiday. With the exception of Sundays, it falls on its actual date. In 1968, Congress approved the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This law, which took effect in 1971, amended the observance of certain federal holidays so that Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day would be observed on Mondays instead of fixed dates.

Congress passed the Act to increase the number of three-day holiday weekend for federal employees. After a loud and persistent outcry from Veterans and Veterans’ groups, who argued the historical significance of November 11th was compromised by the change, Veterans Day observance was returned to November 11th in 1978.

So how did this affinity for November 11th come about? As with many historical facts, it evolved. Veterans Day began as Armistice Day. The significance of Armistice Day is that it was the day of the signing of the Armistice that terminated World War I (WW I). In effect, WW I ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. That was when the Germans signed the document, ending hostilities that had begun in 1914. President Woodrow Wilson subsequently proclaimed the first Armistice Day, November 11, 1919.

WW I was deemed The Great War, and was thought by many, at the time, to be “The War That Ended All Wars.” It was, as the numeric designation suggests, the First World War. Of course, more wars would ensue. There was World War II (WW II), later the Korean Conflict, and then Vietnam.

In 1953, a storeowner in Emporia, Kansas, Al King, launched an idea to honor all Veterans, not just those who served in WW I. The idea took root, sailed through Congress, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law May 26, 1954. Congress amended the Act November 8, 1954, changing Armistice to Veterans, and thus it has been ever since.

So today, especially around “The 11th Hour of This 11th Day of the 11th Month,” to augment a popular bumper sticker, “If you can read this, thank a teacher…and a veteran!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/

http://www1.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=veterans+day&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=dD36Sq2oIM_gnAeEsKyJDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=7&ved=0CC8QsAQwBg

http://www.history.com/content/veteransday

http://www.history.army.mil/faq/vetsday/vetshist.htm

http://www.patriotism.org/veterans_day/

http://www.military.com/veterans-day/

http://www.nraila.org/legislation/read.aspx?id=5202

http://www.military.com/veteransday/History.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_armed_forces

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniformed_services_of_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Public_Health_Service_Commissioned_Corps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration_Commissioned_Corps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Monday_Holiday_Act

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice

It’s time to Break It Down!

Certain groups would have you believe the scourge of black initiated violence is responsible for virtually every negative trend in this country. This applies, especially, to developments that lead to increased mortality rates. If you are a consumer of Right Wing talk radio, or cable news, or dare I say, a number of the GOP Presidential candidates’ spiels, you will hear it suggested that blacks, particularly those ensconced in urban areas are engaged in wonton drug use, hyper gang violence, and random killing sprees. I sometimes wonder if all of what they say is true, how could there possibly be anyone left to buy drugs, join gangs, and/or execute the incalculable numbers of murders we are constantly reminded occur on a nearly daily basis.

Nobel Laureate, Angus Deaton and his wife, Anne Case, both Princeton economists, received international attention for their research, which was published earlier this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). According to the study, since 1999, we have been experiencing a significant spike in the death rate for a large group of middle-aged whites in the United States. The rise in death rates was accompanied by an increase in illness.

However, their work was not immediately received with robust approval. Before presenting it to PNAS, they submitted it to two prestigious medical journals, both of which rejected the study.

First, they tried to get it published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). According to Deaton, who was interviewed while attending a conference, sponsored by Princeton University, on Ebola and global public health in Dublin:

“We got it back almost instantaneously. It was almost like the e-mail had bounced. We got it back within hours.”

Next, Deaton and Case tried the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), after framing their work in the form of a two-page “Perspective” summarizing the alarming trend they had discovered in government mortality statistics. Two tries, two rejection notices. According to Deaton, the NEJM said that their work does not explain why the historically anomalous surge in mortality occurred. He compared that response to calling the fire department to report that your house is on fire:

“And they say, ‘Well, what caused the fire?’ And you say, ‘I don’t know,’ and they say, ‘Well, we can’t send the fire brigade until you can tell us what caused the fire.’”

Staff members at both Journals were reluctant to offer any details surrounding their respective responses to the study. Ms. Jennifer Zeis, media relations manager for the NEJM, said via email that the NEJM could not comment on the fate of any submissions because “The publication process is confidential.” Similarly, Jim Michalski, a spokesman for JAMA, also cited the journal’s confidentiality policy. “We can neither confirm nor deny whether an author has submitted a manuscript for review, or why a manuscript may have been rejected, also conveyed through an email.

The study’s findings apply to the mortality rate for white men and women ages 45-54 with less than a college education. The death rates for this group, based on the results of the study increased markedly between 1999 and 2013. The most likely drivers for this increase are thought to be problems with legal and illegal drugs, alcohol, and suicide. Deaton said of the causality:

“Drugs and alcohol, and suicide…are clearly the proximate cause. Half a million people are dead who should not be dead. That is about 40 times the Ebola stats. You’re getting up there with HIV-AIDS.”

Prior to the time frame cited in the study, death rates for the group had dropped steadily, and at an even faster pace. Historically, increases in mortality rates for any large demographic group in advanced nations, which “Exceptional America must surely be, have been virtually unheard of, with the notable exception of Russian men after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Undoubtedly, this overarching trend narrative is at least in part, the reason that JAMA and the NEJM were less than embracing of the Case’s study and findings.

Since at least 1970, Americans and residents of other wealthy countries have generally enjoyed longer and healthier lives, as smoking has declined, better treatments have been developed and preventive measures and lifestyles changes have had a substantial impact.

The findings of this study could have far-reaching implications as the surviving members of this sizable population segment continue toward retirement and Medicare eligibility. A more sickly population, less able to prepare for the costs associated with old age will place an increasing burden on both society at-large and federal programs.

Such a reversal has not been seen in blacks or Hispanics or among Europeans. The study points specifically to a surge in overdoses from opioid medication and heroin, liver disease and other problems that stem from alcohol abuse, and suicides.

Upon reflection, Deaton noted that he understands the related research will be subjected to political commentary, including that of a conservative Web site’s analysis that blamed President Obama for a trend that began during Bill Clinton Presidency. According to his resulting analysis:

“There is a widening between people at the top and the people who have a ho-hum education and they’re not tooled to compete in a technology economy. …Not only are these people struggling economically, but they’re experiencing this health catastrophe too, so they’re being hammered twice.”

Jonathan Skinner of Dartmouth College, another economist who reviewed the study for PNAS and co-authored a commentary that appears with it, used very similar words to summarize the findings:

“An increasingly pessimistic view of their financial future combined with the increased availability of opioid drugs has created this kind of perfect storm of adverse outcomes.”

Skinner also went on to say:

“This is the first indicator that the plane has crashed. I don’t know what’s going on, but the plane has definitely crashed.

“High school graduates [and] high school dropouts [are] 40 percent of the population. It’s not just the 10 percent who didn’t finish high school. It’s a much bigger group.”

Deaton and Case examined death rates for other developed nations, as well as for U.S. blacks and Hispanics as they continued their steady decline of recent decades. Whites in other age groups between 30 and 64, and more educated whites also had lower death rates. However, the other age groups did also experience substantially higher death rates from drug and alcohol overdoses, suicides, chronic liver disease, and cirrhosis of the liver.

David Weir, director of the health and retirement study at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, noted that while the death rates for African Americans continues to be greater than that for whites, the reversal among whites is shocking because of the advantages they enjoy. He added:

“Typically, socioeconomic circumstances gang up on African Americans, who have lower education, lower incomes, and race all working against them. In this case, that’s not happening.”

Weir surmised that economic insecurity, the decay of communities and the breakdown of families probably have had some impact on death and illness rates, in addition to the nation’s opioid epidemic and the factors the authors identified. Yet, he counters, the study clearly shows they are not the result of diseases such as lung cancer or diabetes, which are declining and increasing slowly, respectively. He interjected:

“I think it has to have something to do [with] the pain underlying it, both physical and psychic. That is the age when people have their midlife crisis…I think it has to do with that stage of life, and physical ailments do start to accumulate at that age. This paper really is a question, not an answer.”

Angus Deaton was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on individual consumption choices. He has long studied measures of well-being, health and pain. He and Case authored a paper in June that found reports of physical pain “are strongly predictive of suicide in many contexts” and that reports of pain are increasing among middle-aged Americans.

Their findings have been corroborated by other research, including a report from the National Heroin Task Force established by the Justice Department, which puts the number of overdose deaths from legal and illegal drugs at 110 every day. The heroin death toll has quadrupled in the decade that ended in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry last year reported that 90 percent of the people who tried heroin for the first time in the last decade were white. Three-quarters said they were introduced to heroin through the use of prescription drugs.

In January, the CDC reported that an average of six people die every day because of alcohol poisoning and that 76 percent are ages 35 to 64. Three-quarters are men. But just last week, researchers reported that the U.S. death rate for all causes declined 43 percent between 1969 and 2013, from about 1,279 per 100,000 people to about 730. The rate of death caused by strokes, heart disease and cancer all declined significantly, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

As you reconcile the veritable cornucopia of data that support the findings in this post, do not fail to appropriately integrate and consider the degree to which these maladies precede the Age of Obama, as well as the disproportionate involvement of, and impact on white folks rather than black folks. Why? Because the next time you hear some ill-informed member of the media, the GOP, or perhaps your family spout off about either the role of President Obama in the decline of life as we know it, or the failure of blacks to respect life and authority, play this study like a high trump card in a game of Spades, complete with theatrics and histrionics. So there you have it…“More White People Are Dying: Newsflash – It’s Not President Obama’s Fault!”

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.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-group-of-middle-aged-american-whites-is-dying-at-a-startling-rate/2015/11/02/47a63098-8172-11e5-8ba6-cec48b74b2a7_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_evening

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/11/03/death-rates-rising-among-middle-aged-white-people-study-finds.html

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a39400/middle-aged-white-americans-dying-fast/

http://fortune.com/2015/11/03/middle-aged-white-death/

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health/death-rates-rising-for-middle-aged-white-americans-study-finds.html?_r=0

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-death-rate-is-rising-for-middle-aged-whites-1446499495

http://time.com/4097521/middle-aged-white-americans-death-rate/

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/02/death-rate-middle-aged-white-americans-aids

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/more-white-people-are-dying-at-middle-age-110215

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/02/453192132/in-reversal-death-rates-rise-for-middle-aged-whites

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/11/03/1443633/-White-middle-class-America-Half-a-million-people-are-dead-who-should-not-be-dead#

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3300978/Silent-epidemic-suicide-drug-alcohol-abuse-triggered-shocking-rise-death-rates-middle-aged-white-Americans.html

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/death-rate-white-middle-aged-154647286.html

http://globalnews.ca/news/2313699/suicide-and-substance-abuse-blamed-for-death-rate-increase-in-white-middle-aged-americans/

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2015/11/02/Death-rate-of-white-middle-aged-Americans-has-grown-seen-since-1990s/4991446497125/

It’s time to Break It Down!

In 1987 current Presidential Candidate Donald J. Trump wrote a book entitled, “Trump The Art of the Deal.” This post is not about that. Rather, it is about the budget deal tentatively struck by Congress and the White House Monday evening. The measure will likely be voted upon today. This is key, and leaves no margin for error.

The urgency, in part, stems from the desire of House Speaker John Boehner to execute and dispense of the matter prior to the vote to elect a new Speaker, also tentatively scheduled for today, to elect Rep. Paul Ryan to the Speaker’s position. In the world of Washington politics, a lot has to go right for all this to happen.

First, not everyone is on board with the new budget. That includes Rep. Ryan; sort of. In fact, Mr. Ryan strongly condemned even the way the accord was put together. He explained he had not even laid eyes on it. He said:

“About the process, I can say this: I think the process stinks. Under new management, the people’s business will be conducted differently.”

Beyond the Ryan objections, it’s fair to say a number of the House and Senate’s most conservative members have reservations, objections, or concerns about the deal. In fact, to reach the deal, compromise, a word that has become anathema in the hallowed Halls of Congress in recent years, had to be reached. And it was.

The House Rules Committee met late into last night in an effort to ensure the deal reached the House floor by today. One key sticking point was a reduction in crop insurance payments; a move designed to raise $3 billion over ten years. A number of the top members of the Senate Agricultural Committee released a statement yesterday opposing the deal. Committee Chairman Michael Conaway (R-Texas) said:

“Make no mistake, this is not about saving money, it is about eliminating Federal Crop Insurance. The House Agricultural Committee was not consulted regarding any changes to policies under the jurisdiction of our committee.”

Also on the concerns side of the ledger, following Tuesday morning’s meeting, some conservatives complained that the budget negotiations were conducted without the input of committee chairs and rank-and-file members. It is however, unlikely that they will have the numbers to derail the pact, that is, presuming Democrats and moderate Republicans stay onboard. Representative John Fleming, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said:

“I don’t know if this thing could pass. It could break apart, and we could begin tackling this piecemeal well into Paul Ryan’s Speakership.” Or so it would seem, he hopes.

Representative Tom Cole, a centrist, said:

“The deal isn’t perfect, but it prevents default and gives certainty to the military, while making long-term reforms to Social Security and Medicare. I think it’s a pretty good choice to make. It’s a compromise and that means we had to give some things up that we don’t want, but we got some great things.”

Concerns notwithstanding, aides downplayed the risks that reservations about the issue could alienate enough votes to damage the deal.

The gist of how, why, and when all of this came about is tied directly to politics and timing. It has been two years since Congress and the White House has reach genuine bi-partisan budget compromise. This…is that. Speaker Boehner, who resigned a few weeks ago, effective October 31^st, wanted very much to craft/negotiate a budget deal, and get it approved before he left his position, and his Congressional Seat. He considered this a parting gift to Mr. Ryan, who will likely assume the reins of the Speakership tomorrow after the vote on the budget, if successful. Speaking about brokering the compromise yesterday, Speaker Boehner admitted he was cleaning a “dirty barn” for his likely replacement, Rep. Ryan, who was not involved in the secretive negotiations.

More precisely, Boehner said that he crafted the deal before his departure because he didn’t want the new Speaker “to walk into a dirty barn full of you know what.” He conceded that the package should have been assembled in a more inclusive way. He went on to add, “This is not the way to run a railroad.”

Ultimately, the leadership of the House and Senate privately negotiated the deal. Those actively involved included Speaker Boehner, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. The group kept a tight lid on the negotiations. They revealed the deal only after it was complete.

Minority Leader Pelosi embraced the agreement yesterday, signaling that the 188 House Democrats could provide a large portion of the vote needed to get a majority in the House. She indicated:

“The bi-partisan budget package unveiled Monday night represents real progress for hard-working families across the country. I look forward to working toward House passage of this proposal this week. Next, we must move forward to complete the appropriations for FY2016 and keep government open.”

If Representative Pelosi and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer can deliver votes from most, if not all, of their members, Mr. Boehner will have to win the support of only about 40 to 50 Republicans to pass the deal.

The Vice President, Joe Biden, praised the deal yesterday. He said:

“The last seven years, we’ve gone from crisis to recovery, and we’re on the verge of being able to have a genuine economic resurgence here. And what we’ve put together is a good deal. No one got everything they wanted. But it will last for two years and it will prevent us from lurching from crisis to crisis.”

Yesterday, Senator McConnell said to reporters that the agreement reaches issues important to Republicans, including more money for defense programs and offering funding increases through spending cuts rather than increases. He added:

“I’m hopeful and optimistic that the bill will come over to the Senate, and when it does, we’ll take it up.”

By most early accounts, key Senate Republicans are also on-board. Among them, Senator John McCain, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he would support the deal because “It restores all but $5 billion of the defense requirements.” He noted that if the budget agreement passes, he could move quickly to adjust and pass the National Defense Authorization Act that was recently vetoed by President Obama over budget concerns. Backing by McCain virtually insures the support of other defense hawks, including Senator Lindsey Graham, a GOP Presidential Candidate. About the deal, Senator Graham said:

“We’re in a box here. But if Senator McCain is okay with it, then I’ll probably be okay with it.”

The White house also weighed in. One White House official said:

“The agreement reached by congressional leaders last night meets these key tests: It provides substantial relief from harmful spending cuts, and it does so equally on the defense and non-defense sides of the budget.”

It should be noted that the deal is not a complete victory for Democrats, who wanted even more spending increases and hoped to pass an increase without including it in a broader budget deal. President Obama has insisted that the debt limit not be used as a negotiating tool for spending cuts. The proposal will allow the President to say he secured a bargain on a scale that has not been seen since the 2013 agreement between Mr. Ryan and Senate Budget Committee (then) Chair Senator Patty Murray.

Democrats will still get to celebrate a messaging victory and will probably take credit for the deal. Senator Charles Schumer pointed out that that the proposal is the kind of spending agreement he and other Democrats have been promoting. He also said:

“For months, we Democrats have asked for a budget that increases spending significantly above sequester levels and does so in a way that is equally balanced between defense and key middle-class programs. The agreement does both.”

There are several key elements of the bipartisan deal, which constitutes a win for both the economy and budget discipline. Some of these points include:

Bipartisan Debt Deal

• Removes the cloud of uncertainty over our economy at this critical time, by ensuring that no one will be able to use the threat of the nation’s first default now, or in only a few months, for political gain;
• Locks in a down payment on significant deficit reduction, with savings from both domestic and Pentagon spending, and is designed to protect crucial investments like aid for college students;
• Establishes a bipartisan process to seek a balanced approach to larger deficit reduction through entitlement and tax reform;
• Deploys an enforcement mechanism that gives all sides an incentive to reach bipartisan compromise on historic deficit reduction, while protecting Social Security, Medicare beneficiaries and low-income programs;
• Stays true to the President’s commitment to shared sacrifice by preventing the middle class, seniors and those who are most vulnerable from shouldering the burden of deficit reduction. The President did not agree to any entitlement reforms outside of the context of a bipartisan committee process where tax reform will be on the table and the President will insist on shared sacrifice from the most well-off and those with the most indefensible tax breaks.

Mechanics of the Debt Deal

• Immediately enacted 10-year discretionary spending caps generating nearly $1 trillion in deficit reduction; balanced between defense and non-defense spending;
• President authorized to increase the debt limit by at least $2.1 trillion, eliminating the need for further increases until 2013;
• Bipartisan committee process tasked with identifying an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, including from entitlement and tax reform. Committee is required to report legislation by November 23, 2011, which receives fast-track protections. Congress is required to vote on Committee recommendations by December 23, 2011;
• Enforcement mechanism established to force all parties – Republican and Democrat – to agree to balanced deficit reduction. If Committee fails, enforcement mechanism will trigger spending reductions beginning in 2013 – split 50/50 between domestic and defense spending. Enforcement protects Social Security, Medicare beneficiaries, and low-income programs from any cuts.

When you come right down to it, there are many angles to this proposed deal. There are forces that promote it; factions that oppose it, and a fringe that is watching to see who is for it and who is against it. I don’t have a crystal ball, but my reading of the tealeaves suggests, despite Senator Rand Paul’s pledge to filibuster the bill, the President, Democrats, and a fragile and fleeting coalition of Republicans, buoyed by the urging of outgoing Speaker Boehner will carry the day. That result would in effect provide the Speaker with a parting victory, Mr. Ryan with the gift of a clean slate…or barn, as it were, and the American People with a winning budget proposal, courtesy of “The Art of the Deal: The Budget Deal, That Is!”

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://abc7.com/news/white-house-congressional-leaders-work-out-budget-plan/1053855/

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/congress-and-white-house-reach-two-year-tentative-budget-deal/

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/white-house-congressional-leaders-near-possible-budget-deal-n451786

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/26/politics/congress-budget-talks-hill/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/12/politics/congress-budget/index.html

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/white-house-congress-reach-tentative-173654848.html

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheet-victory-bipartisan-compromise-economy-american-people

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/us/politics/congress-white-house-budget-deal-boehner.html?_r=0

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-congress-budget-deal-20151026-story.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/10/27/budget-bargain-faces-first-test-today-with-house-republicans/

http://www.amazon.com/Trump-The-Deal-Donald-J-ebook/dp/B000SEGE6M?tag=duckduckgo-osx-20

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Rules

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/us/politics/obama-boehner-budget-deal.html?ribbon-ad-idx=14&rref=homepage&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Home%20Page&pgtype=article

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/10/27/rand-paul-will-filibuster-debt-ceiling-bill/

It’s time to Break It Down!

The very high profile and discordant GOP stalemate appears to be coming to a merciful end; the dispute nearly over. Maybe!

A few weeks ago, in the midst of Pope Francis’ American DC-NY-PA Tour, House Speaker John Boehner underwent an epiphany and announced he would resign from his Speakership, and retire from Congress. At that moment, it appeared Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Leader, was most likely to pursue the Speaker’s position.

Indeed, he had Speaker Boehner’s blessing and endorsement. It should be noted, that was always going to be problematic for McCarthy. Boehner had become a less than popular leader, especially among the ultra conservative wing of the GOP, which includes the Tea Party element.

As if the onus of being close to the Speaker were not enough, in a Truth Serum-like induced moment of candor, Mr. McCarthy admitted in a Fox News interview that he was part of a Benghazi probe that had resulted in deflating Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers. Oops!

Quicker than a magician could say abracadabra, Representative McCarthy’s SNAFU ascended to a top-tier Twitter trending item, and part of a continuous loop in the 24-hour news cycle. Can you say liability? In a matter of days Mr. McCarthy evolved from a candidate who hoped to survive a spirited and contested battle for the Speakership to someone who lost all hope. He entered a meeting at which a vote on the matter was expected, and left, having taken himself out of the running.

On some level it was not a surprising move; yet it was totally unexpected. He had given no indication he would recuse himself from running. In some ways, it was a most artful sleight. It allowed him to proactively disengage from what was sure to be a figurative intra-Party OK Corral kind of gymnastic. Score one for the Kev.

As much as his “Smooth Operator” move made matters less complicated for him in the long run, and less contentious for the GOP in the short term, the tactic further roiled the waters for the Party, which at its core needed to get on with the business of electing a New Speaker, and complicated Mr. Boehner’s level of duress. After all, he hopes to gavel to a close his final meeting by October 31st.

Almost immediately after McCarthy’s exit, a Draft Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan movement emerged in full bore. There had been some level of interest in his becoming a candidate for the post, all along. His advocates, whom, represent various elements of the Party largely agree that he is one of the few, if not the only person whom, at this time, could persuade the requisite number of House colleagues to coalesce around and elect a candidate.

From the outset, Paul Ryan navigated the ensuing process in an arm’s length fashion. By most accounts, the job (Speaker of the House) is one he did not want, and in fact opted not to seek. There are a number of reasons for this, including, the nature of the job called for, from his perspective:

– Too much travel

– Too much fundraising

– Too much jousting and in fighting

Ryan is currently Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He assumed the Chairmanship in January of this year. Prior to that, he spent four years as Chairman of the House Budget Committee. The Committee on Ways and Means has a wide range of oversight and responsibilities. The Committee on Budget is also the kind of high-level policy-heavy assignment that Ryan considers right in his wheel well. He is a policy wonk that wants to reform the tax code, and would ideally like to take a crack at running for President. He was on the ticket as Mitt Romney’s choice for Vice President in 2012.

The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Members of the Ways and Means Committee are not allowed to serve on any other House Committees unless they apply for a waiver from their party’s congressional leadership. The Committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other programs including:

• Social Security
• Unemployment benefits
• Medicare
• Enforcement of child support laws
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, a federal welfare program
• Foster care and adoption programs

The U.S. Constitution requires that all bills regarding taxation must originate in the House of Representatives. Since House procedure is that all bills regarding taxation must go through this committee, the committee is very influential, as is its Senate counterpart, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance.

The U.S. House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, reviewing all bills and resolutions on the budget, and monitoring agencies and programs funded outside of the budgetary process.

Last night, Mr. Ryan took the first step toward what Republicans, at least the group that considers itself of the mainstream variety hopes will be the beginning of the end of the Speaker selection impasse. At first blush, it seems promising. But the contemporary Republican Party is almost not one Party in the traditional sense.

Ryan, understanding just what he is working with laid out a series of caveats that the Party must accept, in order for him to “reluctantly” take the job. The gist of those points his colleagues must agree to include the following:

• He must receive the support of all three groups inside the House Republican conference: the House Freedom Caucus, the Republican Study Committee and the moderate Tuesday Group.

• He wants changes to House rules made as a team — a major demand of the House Freedom Caucus; he wants to make it harder to overthrow a sitting speaker.

• He wants a better work-life balance than out-going House Speaker John Boehner had.

• He also emphasized the importance of unified support for the next speaker. Ryan told his colleagues he is willing to take “arrows in the chest but not in the back,” a GOP source inside the meeting told CNN.

Ryan closed his remarks by adding, should the conference agree to his stipulations, “I am happy and willing to get to work.” He went on to say, “I hope it doesn’t sound conditional, but it is.” According to members inside the room. He paused after saying the word “conditional,” for effect.

In explaining his insistence on the aforementioned terms of engagement, Ryan said, “This is not a job I ever sought; this is not a job I ever wanted. I came to the conclusion that this was a dire moment.”

Observers close to the process also weighed in. Peter King (R-NY) by most accounts a moderate, said, “If Paul Ryan can’t unite us, no one can. Who else is out there? That’d be a sign of utter dysfunction, total madness.”

Ryan’s allies say his conditions for becoming speaker are likely to include an understanding that he would have a free hand to lead without a constant fear of mutinous reprisals. One, Peter Wehner, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, said Ryan wants House conservatives to make clear that they would not seek to “cripple him” from the start.

Wehner added, “He doesn’t have a moral obligation to get Republicans out of the rubble they’ve created for themselves. Asking for their goodwill is completely reasonable.”

Perhaps the most challenging element for Ryan to get his arms around, and to whip or coerce, or coddle into line is the group known as the Freedom Caucus. This is a group of hardline Republicans who were not enamored with Speaker Boehner, and who tried to unseat him on a number of occasions.

In the initial stages of the group’s existence, which came to power in 2011, after the Tea Party swept a number of 2010 midterm election, the focus was primarily on reducing government spending. Latter day emphases have included specific targets such as Planned Parenthood, and its funding. But as time wears on, it is increasingly clear that what the Freedom Caucus wants more than specific legislation is power.

The clock is ticking, and the brinksmanship, while interesting in a sociological kind of way, is a totally counterproductive endeavor. We will soon see if the Representative from Wisconsin’s First Congressional District has constructed an acceptable path forward, via “Ryan’s Rules: Demands, Conditions, Stipulations…Pick the Semantic of Your Choice!”

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.washingtonpost.com/politics/ryan-nears-decision-on-speakers-race-as-congress-returns/2015/10/20/b0e4998c-7687-11e5-bc80-9091021aeb69_story.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/20/politics/paul-ryan-house-speaker/index.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/us/politics/republicans-paul-ryan-house-speaker.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Caucus

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/us/politics/republican-freedom-caucuss-revolt-in-house-is-stoked-back-home.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ryan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boehner

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_McCarthy_(California_politician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_Ways_and_Means

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_Committee_on_the_Budget#Role_of_the_House_Budget_Committee

It’s time to Break It Down!

As many of you did, I spent much of last night watching this season’s first Democratic Party Presidential Debate. I was extended, and accepted an opportunity to attend and participate in a Focus Group to discuss the Debate. Instead of creating a post after viewing the debate, I chose instead to repost a story I logged a year ago.

On Friday we will observe the 20^th Anniversary of the Million Man March. Last year I wrote about what I felt the MMM represented for my generation, from my perspective, of course.

A natural query to pose is, “But what about the March this past weekend; why not focus on that one?” It is a fair question. The same controversial leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, who was a central figure in the 1995 March was at the forefront of last Saturday’s Million Man March for Justice or Else; the Washington Mall facing the Capitol was the same location, and tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people, mostly blacks, assembled from all across the country.

All of that is true. What is also true is I did not attend this past weekend’s event. I chose to reprise the 1995 March because of my personal connection to memories of that March. To that end, what follows is the unedited post from October 15, 2014, titled as above.

Tomorrow will mark the 19^th Anniversary of the Million Man March (MMM). Before moving to the narrative, I know there are those who are disturbed that I would deign to conflate or equate The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; the March of A. Phillip Randolph, of Bayard Rustin, and of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I understand completely, and that is not what I’m doing.

On August 27^th and 28^th, 1963, I was nine years old. My participation came courtesy of my vantage point, seated in front of our 19-inch Black & White TV. It was informative, and inspiring, but it was not in-person (for me). Rustin, Randolph, King, and their co-participants and contemporaries, through their actions, reframed the trajectory of the landscape of American society, as we knew it. All of us are forever in their debt…each and every one of us. If you are an American today, whether you were born by then, or lived here at that time, if you are here now, you are obliged to credit, or blame if you choose, them for the country we have become.

By October 16, 1995, I was forty-something. I had been aware of the planning and development of the Million Man March from its early stages. From the outset, I was committed that this time, I would be fully present and accounted for. This time, timing was on my side. I actually had a job that made it not only acceptable, but also desirable to be there. I went, on my own aegis, not for work. But with a job title, Minority Affairs Director, I had no doubt; it was meant for me to be there.

Most of the rest of this post will be devoted to a verbatim recounting of an essay I wrote about my first person experience attending the March. The essay was one of three that appeared in the November 1995 Edition of OUTLOOK (Vol. 26 No. 11), the Newsmagazine for employees of Mecklenburg County, NC. All three were captured under the broad heading, “Reflections on the Million Man March.”

Here’s my essay:

For me, this event was at once a culmination and a commencement.

Nearly a year ago Minister Louis Farrakhan spoke here in Charlotte and announced plans for a Million Man March to be held in Washington, D.C. I left the Convention Center that evening committed to be at the March. My interest and enthusiasm culminated with my participation on Monday, October 16, 1995.

The March also was the point of commencement for the strategies and action to create positive and deeply rooted change in the social fabric of our individual communities and in the entire nation.

Though estimates of the actual attendance are in dispute, whether the number was 400,000 or more than a million, the turnout was epic. By the former measure, it is the largest civil rights rally in the history of this country; the latter would make it simply the largest gathering ever on the Washington Mall.

Being there was to be engulfed by the spirit of the moment; surrounded by a sea of positively focused humanity. It was an endeavor whose moment had come. It had to be done!

The day was characterized by its organizers as a time for collective atonement, reconciliation, responsibility, and absence: atonement for having been AWOL from familial responsibility; reconciliation to the women, children, families, and communities that had been abandoned; responsibility for our own actions and the consequences of those actions; and absence from normal daily employment and consumption (buying) patterns. These steps underscore the seriousness of our circumstances, and provide a vehicle to penetrate the nation’s consciousness. (Mission accomplished).

Minister Farrakhan and the Reverend Benjamin Chavis are correctly viewed as principal symbols of “The March.” They played central roles in conceiving and organizing the effort. In the final analysis however, “The March” belonged to THE PEOPLE. No one, two, or twenty individuals could adequately represent the total spectrum of this undertaking. It spanned wide ranges of economy, geography, religion, politics, ideology, age, gender, disability, and general point of view. African-Americans united to respond to the beleaguered condition of people…not against anyone.

Speaker after speaker – Maya Angelou, Charles Rangel, Kwaisi Mfume, Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks, Jawanza Kunjufu, John Conyers, Stevie Wonder, Tynnetta Muhammad, Kurt Schmoke, Marion Berry, Benjamin Chavis, and Louis Farrakhan – in their own way, challenged and urged those in attendance, those watching at home (or at work) and those who would later hear about it, to work together to heal our society.

Minister Farrakhan specifically outlined several steps that participants should take, including:

1. Register to vote and actively work to make sure others do;
2. Affiliate with an organization(s) focused on improving the Black Community;
3. Join a church, synagogue, mosque, etc., and put your religion to work in the community;
4. Adopt one of the 25,000 black children waiting for adoption;
5. Develop a relationship with a prisoner and help that person in their transition to life after prison;
6. Establish a black United Fund to help our communities.

These steps alone will not alleviate all the problems we face. But if these measures are adopted, we will have taken one giant step forward.

Those of us assembled on the Mall on Monday, October 16, 1995 were prayerful, powerful, respectful, and reverent. More importantly, we were inspired by having been there, and we left committed to begin, continue, or accelerate our personal efforts to implement solutions to the trenchant social problems we face in our communities. I’m ready to do my part.

Peace!

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Arguably, a dozen years before I conceived and introduced The Sphinx of Charlotte/Break It Down, this essay was my very first blog. Who knew? Now, you do. I hope you enjoyed this narrative version of Throw Back Thursday (remember, tomorrow is the anniversary), brought to you on Wednesday. So there you have it, “A Look Back at the MMM: My Generation’s March on Washington!”

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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_on_Washington_for_Jobs_and_Freedom

http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_march_on_washington_for_jobs_and_freedom/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/382949/Million-Man-March

http://www.noi.org/about-million-man-march/

http://www.blackpast.org/aah/million-man-march-1995

http://www.c-span.org/video/?67630-1/million-man-march

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8UB-shmJfQ

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/million-man-march-black-history-photo_n_2774778.html

http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2010/10/the_million_man_march_15_years_later.html

It’s time to Break It Down!

Allow me to flout convention and begin with the end. In summary, the perpetrator’s effort to address the subject is a start, but falls short, far short in fact, of what’s necessary to make right an immeasurable injustice.

How did we arrive at this point?

In recent years there has been a not so subtle effort to reimage American History, or at least a key part of it. A certain element of the country has increasingly flexed its growing political and cultural muscle by successfully lobbying to change the way textbooks express the emergence, growth and development of the United States as a World Power.

Legislatures in several States have voted to participate in this unsavory practice. Even the Republican National Committee has gotten in on the act. Conservatives scrutinized the 2014 edition of the College Board’s release of its new Advanced Placement U.S. History teaching guidelines for not being patriotic enough. The Republican National Committee issued a resolution describing the framework as a “biased and inaccurate view of many important events in American history” and calling on Congress to withhold federal funding from the College Board.

Read: New AP U.S. history teaching framework released after controversy

It can be argued that, at best, this deception dilutes the truth quotient associated with the course of American human events. At worst, it totally whitewashes, no pun intended, the atrocities visited upon millions of erstwhile Africans. These men and women were violently separated from their homeland, and transported across an Ocean under the most brutal of circumstances. The conditions the human cargo was subjected to; shackled in cramped quarters, and barely fed, effectively killed countless men and women during the transcontinental voyages. Those who survived had their lives leveraged for free labor, while they essentially built significant portions of the infrastructure of this country.

As previously referenced, a number of States engage in this unpalatable behavior. However, none is bigger and/or more influential than Texas, if for no other reason, than because of the sheer number of textbooks the State purchases. Moreover, due to the large number of books prepared for Texas, that version of the texts is likely to be marketed to other smaller states that cannot command, based on volume, a different, truer-to-fact, version of the texts.

Publisher McGraw-Hill is contracted to prepare and provide World Geography textbooks for the State of Texas. In the version of events approved by the Texas Legislature, African slaves are referred to as “workers” and “immigrants.” In one passage, the book notes:

“The Atlantic slave trade brought millions of workers…”

OK, hold on, wait a minute! This low-grade historical rewrite has been kicked around in newspapers and Internet news sites for some time. Finally a student and his mother, Coby Burren and Roni Dean-Burren, respectively, collaborated to kick-off a Facebook post that went viral. The ensuing smoke apparently made its way all the way up the communications chimney to McGraw-Hill executives.

The Dean-Burrens recoiled at the manipulatively nuanced characterizations that referred to individuals whom we know were slaves, as workers and immigrants. In response, Mrs. Dean-Burren asked:

“Workers implies wages … yes?

In one more testament to the viability and velocity of the inherent in general, and of Facebook in particular, her post had drawn 1.4 million page views on Facebook through Sunday before last. The higher-ups at McGraw-Hill not only heard (or saw/read, as it were), they responded.

Once confronted by the outcry emanating from the Dean-Burren family, McGraw-Hill reviewed the section. After a quick refresher, they concluded that the phraseology comprised in that particular section does not live up to their standards. As the Company put it, in a post on its own Facebook Page last Friday:

“We believe we can do better to communicate these facts more clearly, we will update this caption to describe the arrival of African slaves in the U.S. as a forced migration and emphasize that their work was done as slave labor.”

The company noted the edits will appear in the online version of the book immediately and will be included in the book’s next printing.

In response to the news, Mrs. Dean-Burren said on her Facebook Page:

“This is change people!!! This is why your voices matter!!!” And they do.

In citing a couple of specific examples of the reinvention of history in the text, Mrs. Dean-Burren elevated a passage from the section called “Patterns of Immigration.” In that section the text provides snapshots of how various ethnic groups arrived…in America. It notes:

“The Atlantic slave trade between the 1500s and the 1800s brought millions of workers from Africa to the southern United States to work on agricultural plantations.”

Immigration? Really? Mr. Trump and his immigration foes must not have received the memo. There is an immigrant pool that not only works but also does so for free.

A separate passage describes the arrival of Europeans who came to work as indentured servants “for little or no pay.” Here, they note that English and other Europeans received little or no pay, yet, no mention that Africans were slaves…just workers.

Mrs. Dean-Burren accurately calls this characterization of slavery in the text an “erasure.”

“Erasure is real y’all!!! Teach your children the truth!!! ‪#‎blacklivesmatter”

Coby, a ninth-grade student at Pearland High School south of Houston, brought the textbook and its loose-with-the-facts language to his mother’s attention. Texas has been a battleground in the fight over changes to textbooks that some say concede too much ground to conservative viewpoints on subjects such as climate change, religious liberty and especially slavery.

Read: Texas OKs school guidelines after ideological debate

While Mrs. Dean Burren took solace in having been a catalyst for a degree of change in McGraw-Hill’s posture on the subject of describing slavery in appropriate terms, some believe the changes aren’t enough and are asking the publisher to recall existing versions of the book and replace copies for schools that can’t afford to buy new books. I support this view. One comment on McGraw-Hill’s Facebook Page read:

“Thanks for the gesture, but that doesn’t help the school districts that can’t afford to purchase new textbooks! Kids will continue to read the same incorrect & inconsiderate information for probably the next 5-10 years! There must be a better way!”

Others say the publisher’s revised language still plays down the horrors of slavery.

“Forced migration? I believe the words you’re looking for are kidnapped and stolen,” wrote a commenter.

With those observations, I will end this post as it began, as I said I would. In summary, McGraw-Hill’s effort to address the subject is a start, but falls short, far short in fact, of what’s necessary to make right an immeasurable injustice. Therefore, when you reflect on this sordid episode, all you really need to know is, this was “A Tale Of The Great African Migration: Emphasis On Tale!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com or http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.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://www.cnn.com/2015/10/04/living/mcgraw-hill-slavery-textbook-mom-complaint-feat/index.html

http://khon2.com/2015/10/05/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-after-texas-moms-complaint/

http://wtkr.com/2015/10/05/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-after-moms-complaint/

http://fox6now.com/2015/10/05/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-after-moms-complaint/

http://time.com/4060687/mcgraw-hill-slavery-trade-textbook/

http://www.metro.us/news/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-after-online-outrage-over-whitewashed-history/zsJoje—7CBMCh9Hw/

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rewriting-history-texas-tackles-textbook-debate/

http://fox13now.com/2015/10/04/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-that-describes-african-slaves-as-workers-and-immigrants/

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/10/05/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-passage-identifying-slaves-as-w/21245107/

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/connectedcar/mcgraw-hill-to-rewrite-textbook-passage-identifying-slaves-as-‘workers/vp-AAf8yM

It’s time to Break It Down!

It was bound to happen. I’ve written about what was at the time a totally new thing when the NBA hired its first female coach. Then, football entered the game, so to speak. It was almost certainly only a matter of time before a third member of America’s Big 4 sports franchises took a seat at the table. Sure enough, the inevitable transpired when Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland A’s and Justine Siegal made MLB history yesterday, as the Oakland Athletics announced she would serve as a guest instructor for their Instructional League club, making her the first woman to coach in big league history.

On July 29, 2015 I wrote:

“Jennifer Welter was hired as a training camp and preseason coaching intern for the inside linebackers position for the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals. The signing made her the first female coach in the NFL.”

On July 22, 2015 I wrote:

“Coach Gregg Popovich and the Spurts made Ms. Hammon the NBA’s first full-time Regular Season female Assistant Coach on August 5, 2014. It was clear at that time she had cultivated a history with the Spurs, and that she had established a relationship with both Coach Popovich and a number of Spurs’ players. Other women had served in support roles, one as an Assistant during the Summer League, and another as a Volunteer Assistant during the Regular Season. Hammon, however, assumed full coaching responsibilities, and traveled with the team.

On Monday evening, Ms. Hammon led the Spurs to the Championship of the Vegas Summer League, as the Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 93-90. By doing so, she became the feature attraction in yet another chapter in the annals of history, after having added one just two weeks ago, when she became the first woman to serve as Head Coach of an NBA Summer League Team. The Spurs lost their first Summer League game to the NY Knicks, but rallied from that point, winning the rest of their games, including in the end, persevering in a hotly contested Title Game.

On August 6, 2014 I wrote:

“But that’s a tale that will not be told until next spring.  Apparently, the Spurs wanted to make a statement now, and that they did.  Yesterday, they announced the hiring of Rebecca (Becky) Hammon as an Assistant Coach.  In doing so, they made her the first female to become a full-time Regular Season Assistant Coach in the League.  This year, Natalie Nakase, an assistant video coordinator for the Clippers, was hired to help run the Summer League.  Also, during the 2001-02 Season, when John Lucas coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lisa Boyer served as a Volunteer Assistant with the Cavs.  However, Ms. Boyer did not travel with the team.  In contrast, Hammon will operate in the capacity of a full-time Assistant, and will travel with the team.

Hammon, a veteran WNBA player had already announced her retirement, slated for the end of the WNBA Season.  As a member of the San Antonio Stars, she and the Spurs were already familiar with each other.  In fact, she had previously worked with the Spurs; a key factor in Coach Popovich’s comfort level with her.  CNN reported that Popovich, in speaking of Hammon said:

“I very much look forward to the addition of Becky Hammon to our staff.”  Having observed her working with our team this past season, I’m confident her basketball IQ, work ethic and interpersonal skills will be a great benefit to the Spurs.””

Today it’s Major Leaguer Baseball’s turn to grab a proverbial 15 minutes of fame for its foray into the world of female coaching hires. At first blush, it appears they are doing a fine job, and that they have selected an excellent candidate. Dr. Siegal, who has a Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Psychology, has completed the Major League Scouting Bureau School. As a rookie coach, she will assume a slate of duties that comprises an array of responsibilities, including, hitting infield practice, throwing batting practice, offering her knowledge in meetings, and, as she says, “helping out wherever they want me to help out.”

Dr. Siegal went on to say:

“And I do like talking about life skills—I like to help people achieve their life goals.”

Siegal, became the first woman to coach men professionally in 2009 when she was the first-base coach for the independent league Brockton Rox. She will work with A’s minor-leaguers from Oct. 4 through Oct. 17.

Her hiring continues an upward trend for women in men’s professional sports. The San Antonio Spurs’ hired Becky Hammon as an assistant coach, and she led the Spurs’ summer league team to a championship this past July. This summer the Sacramento Kings followed suit by hiring Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman to serve as an assistant under head coach George Karl.

At the moment it appears that Siegal’s situation is best compared to that of Dr. Jen Welter, who served as a coaching intern with the Arizona Cardinals during training camp. Like Welter, Siegal was not hired for a permanent position but as temporary help during a time when a team needs all hands on deck.

A’s Assistant General Manager David Forst put it this way:

“Justine knows that nothing has been promised, but we’re not ruling that out,” referring to a full-time position.

For her part, Dr. Siegal responded:

“I think it would be incredible to coach full-time.” But for now, I’ll do my best every day to help out any way I can, from carrying water to throwing BP to using my Ph.D.”

When questioned about the potential reaction of the A’s minor-league players, Mr. Forst believes they will be as accepting of Siegal as they would be of any other coach. He added:

“I’ve found from experience that men are surprised to have a woman coach, but when they realize you know what you’re talking about and that you care, you fit right in with the rest of the staff.”

Siegal has served as co-chair of SABR’s Women in Baseball Committee and she directs a program that champions gender equity in sport for Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. She is the founder of Baseball For All, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing instruction and opportunity in baseball, especially for girls; Baseball For All will hold a national event for girls aged 7-15 in San Francisco in July.

The A’s are one of a handful of teams to have employed a woman in a scouting capacity in the front office; Kate Greenthal was a scouting assistant with the team from 2012 through ’14. Former A’s assistant GM Farhan Zaidi, now the Dodgers’ GM, is one of the few Muslims in baseball administration, and Oakland’s director of player personnel, Billy Owens, is African American.

That leaves the NHL as the only major professional sports league that has not had a female coach. The Athletics previously employed Kate Greenthal in their scouting department from 2012 to 2014, and this hire shows they’re still among the most progressive organizations in baseball. Even if Siegal’s just a guest instructor, this is progress worth celebrating and, hopefully, a sign of things to come.

So there you have it, “Act III: Baseball Enters the Game!”  All-in-all, not a bad way to create a little pre-World Series buzz.  Way to go A’s, and MLB!

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

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2573727-justine-siegal-hired-by-athletics-becomes-1st-female-mlb-coach

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/07/29/jens-turn-apparently-its-in-the-cards/

https://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/07/22/the-spurs-and-becky-hammon-another-chapter-added/

(http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/2014/08/first-spurs-won-title-now-they-are.html)

http://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/Oakland-A-s-hire-woman-coach-Justine-Siegal-to-6538183.php

http://www.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_28896649/make-justine-siegal-first-female-coach

http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/09/29/justine-siegal-oakland-athletics-female-coach

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/09/29/as-make-justine-siegal-first-female-coach-hired-by-mlb-team/

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2015-09-29/athletics-hire-justine-siegal-female-coah-oakland-baseball-mlb

http://www.insidebayarea.com/athletics/ci_28896649/make-justine-siegal-first-female-coach