He Said He Would…And He Did!

Posted on February 25, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Ever since the GOP secured a majority in the U.S. Senate in the November 4, 2014 General Election, to match the advantage they already enjoyed in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans have made it clear they would pass a bill approving construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Yesterday, they made the promise a fait accompli. With a resolve to match the GOP’s relentless push, President Obama made it equally clear he would veto such a bill. To that end, he kept his end of the bargain yesterday.

The Houses of Congress spent a significant portion of the first two months of the year prepping for was a near certain outcome yesterday. The Senate, by a roll call vote of 62-36, moved to approve its bill Thursday, January 29, 2015. In summary, 53 Republicans and 9 Democrats voted for the bill. Voting in opposition were 34 Democrats and 2 Independents. No Republicans voted against the measure.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015, the House took up the Senate bill and approved the measure by a vote of 270 to 152. The bill garnered the support of 29 Democrats. One GOP Representative, Justin Amash, of Michigan, voted against the bill. That action of the House completed the preliminary steps of preparing the bill for the President’s review.

The process came full circle, apparently quickly. Congress sent the measure to President Obama yesterday. He returned to sender, using his Veto authority for the first time in five years, and only the third time during his Presidency.

Counting yesterday’s veto, you have to go back 134 years, to James A. Garfield, the 20^th President, to find a President with fewer vetoes than President Obama. He had no vetoes, but served just over six months in office, as his Presidency lasted only 199 days, from March 4, 1881 to September 19, 1881. Charles J. Guiteau shot him July 2, 1881. Garfield died two and a half months later. Only William Henry Harrison served less time as an American President. Harrison, who died of pneumonia, served only 32 days. Not surprisingly, he was also among the seven Presidents who never used the veto. Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President also died prematurely, after only a year and a half in office, without ever using the veto. Millard Fillmore, the thirteenth President, served Zachary Taylor’s unexpired term, and never used the veto.

To provide a little veto context, seven Presidents, the second, John Adams, third Thomas Jefferson, fifth James Monroe, ninth William Henry Harrison, twelfth Zachary Taylor, thirteenth Millard Fillmore, and the twentieth James Garfield never used the veto. Of those, Harrison, Taylor, and Garfield died after short terms in office, and Fillmore completed Taylor’s term. Of the remaining thirty-six Presidents other than Mr. Obama, only George Washington, the first President (2), James Monroe, the fifth President (1), and Martin Van Buren, the eighth President (1), used the veto less than President Obama has to date. The eleventh President, James K. Polk also used his veto pen three times.

This however, may be just the beginning of President Obama’s veto use. He has already signaled his unwillingness to simply accept proposed GOP legislation to roll back the Affordable Care Act, as well as bills reversing the executive action he has taken on immigration.

Early indications are GOP legislators will be unable to reverse the President’s veto. The threshold for overriding a President’s veto is a two-thirds vote in each chamber of Congress. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already announced the veto override vote occur no later than next Tuesday.

Pipeline advocates, including Republican leadership in Congress argue the Keystone would create jobs; opponents meanwhile contend the potential environmental risks are not worth it. For its part, the Whitehouse says they oppose the measure because it usurps the President’s authority to approve or deny the pipeline. The project has been under administrative review for a number of years.

Josh Earnest, White House Press Secretary notes that it is still conceivable President Obama may approve the pipeline at the completion of State Department review. In the interim, the President has downplayed the economic benefits of the pipeline. He underscored that point in the State of the Union Address, when he said: “Let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline,”

For their part, Republican Legislators said yesterday the expected veto sets a sour tone for further cooperation. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote in a USA Today op-ed, “This White House refuses to listen and look for common ground. It’s the same kind of top-down, tone deaf leadership we’ve come to expect and we were elected to stop.”

In other words, it appears, the long winter of our political discontent continues. What we know for sure is, when it comes to the Keystone XL Pipeline, “He Said He Would…And He Did!”

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/2015/02/24/politics/obama-keystone-veto/index.html

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/congress-sends-obama-bill-approve-keystone-pipeline-n304676

http://rare.us/story/president-obama-sends-republicans-keystone-xl-pipeline-bill-back-to-congress/

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/congress-sends-obama-bill-approve-keystone-pipeline-n304676

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00049

http://www.politicususa.com/2015/01/29/senator-voted-keystone-xl-pipeline-bill.html

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_J._Guiteau

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

Someone You Should Know: Thomas Hagan; AKA Talmadge X Hayer

Posted on February 18, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

This post was originally published April 28, 2010. I am re-posting and amending it today, in honor of the 50^th Anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination, later this week, Saturday, February 21^st, 2015.

Many of us are aware of the lore of Malcolm X. We know he was for a time a street hustler from Omaha Nebraska. Born Malcolm Little, he refined his hustle on the mean streets of New York and Boston. By age 13, his father had died; his mother institutionalized. He subsequently spent time in several foster homes while growing up.

Malcolm, who would become one of America’s “No last name required” legends, evolved from practitioner of petty street crimes to a member, and ultimately the foremost advocate, of the Nation of Islam (NOI). After more than a decade as the firebrand public face of the NOI, Malcolm broke ranks with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad (Elijah Poole), the leader of the NOI. The ensuing rift between these two men resulted in Malcolm leaving the NOI and affiliating with the orthodox Sunni Muslims.

After this split, there emerged a part of the lore that many people missed. Malcolm, in short order, made a Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca), changed his name again, this time to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, and perhaps most important, renounced racism. On February 21, 1965, 11 months after leaving the NOI, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz was assassinated while giving a speech in the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.

Enter Thomas Hagan!

Yesterday, the New York State Department of Correctional Services paroled Thomas Hagan. He left the Lincoln Correctional Facility at 11:00 a.m. Ironically, the facility is located at the corner of West 110th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard. Why is this ironic, you may ask? The biting irony lies in the coincidence that Mr. Hagan, known in 1965 as Talmadge X Hayer, is the lone “admitted” gunman involved in the slaying of Malcolm X. That Hagan should spend his final days of confinement in a facility on the corner of a street named for his victim is cruelly coincidental. To put the matter into even sharper focus, the nexus ties his freedom portal directly back to the man he murdered, and whose death resulted in his 44-year incarceration.

In many ways, Hagan being released yesterday was simply the culmination of events long underway. In fact, Mr. Hagan had been in a Work Release program since 1992 (18 years) that allowed him to spend five days a week at home in Brooklyn with his family, and required that he spend two days a week only at the minimum-security Lincoln Correctional Facility.

Thomas Hagan became eligible for parole in 1984. Last month he went before the parole board for the 15th time. After 14 rejections, the now 69 year-old Hagan finally gained approval for his release. He is still on parole, but will return to his family, and continue his efforts to become a substance abuse counselor.

Hagan’s journey has been well chronicled, and more than a little interesting. He was part of a group of three NOI members who shot and killed Malcolm. He was, however, the only one of the three apprehended on the spot. He was also the only person who ever confessed and pled guilty for his role in the assassination. According to transcripts from his March 3, 2010 hearing before the parole board, he said, “I have deep regrets about my participation in that. I don’t think it should ever have happened.”

In one of the more interesting developments of the case, two other suspects were also convicted in the killing. Both of them, Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Kahlil Islam, denied involvement. Of course, that is not the interesting part. For a suspect to declaring his innocence is an every day occurrence. Being convicted, in spite of their declarations is common as well. This scenario departed from the beaten path when Hagan, while admitting his own guilt, testified that Aziz and Islam were not with him, were not a part of the plan, and in fact were innocent.

All three were convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Aziz was paroled in 1985; Islam was freed in 1987. Both maintained they were innocent from the start. At every step in the process, from the trial throughout his 15 appearances for hearings before the parole board, Hagan admitted his personal guilt, and consistently maintained the other two men were innocent. The catch, if there was one, is that three men were involved in killing Malcolm. Hagan admitted his own involvement, and even conceded there were two other men involved, just not Aziz and Islam. I am left to infer that either the parole board did not believe him, or they elected to continue punishing him for refusing to roll over on his real co-conspirators.

No matter how you look at it, there is a lot about this part of the case that begs numerous questions. For example, what are the odds that if Hagan had two co-conspirators, witnesses at the Audubon Ballroom mistakenly identified, Aziz and Islam, who apparently were there, and they could not have extricated themselves by identifying the other parties? Why would Hagan take the fall for Aziz and Islam? If Aziz and Islam were in fact innocent, why would Hagan not identify the actual culprits?

Of course, there are other equally compelling queries, but that will do for our purposes. There has long been an undercurrent of rumor and innuendo implicating NOI, in general, and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in particular, in Malcolm’s murder. Malcolm had deeply revered Elijah Muhammad, due to the role of his teachings in motivating Malcolm to turn his life around. Yet, when Malcolm learned that the Prophet, as Muhammad was known, had father 8 children by six different teenage girls, he began to distance himself from the NOI’s leader. There are those who also theorize a step further that the current NOI Leader, the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, may have been involved directly or indirectly,

I am not a detective; nor am I writing this post to solve a cold case. In taking just a cursory look at the matter, however, one could certainly see how individuals close to the situation might have been encouraged, incentivized, induced, threatened, or otherwise persuaded to recall specific details differently, or not at all. This matter has garnered some of the same kind of mystique as that of President John F. Kennedy and Dealey Plaza (the grassy knoll legend), and as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Lorraine Motel. One marked distinction in those two cases is that conspiracy theorists have been trying to establish for over 40 years that Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray did not act alone; while we know Talmadge X Hayer (Thomas Hagan) did not. We are just uncertain who acted as his accomplices.

As with Kennedy and King, other theories emerged. To be considered an icon, one must certainly be the source of more than one legend. Obviously Malcolm emerged as a change agent at a time of great social travail, and national strife. As a black leader, he was alleged to have been constantly under the watchful eye of the enigmatic J. Edgar Hoover and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Back in the day, the agency was widely believed to have infiltrated all major black organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPPSD), and even the NOI, as well as numerous others. The alleged purposes for these infiltrations were basic, to keep tabs on the plans and activities of the groups and their leaders, but also to sow seeds of confusion, clamor, and chaos. If in the process of so doing, one or more of the leaders happened to get taken out, even better, or so the theory goes.

After Malcolm left the Nation of Islam in March 1964, agents pondered the prospect of a depoliticized more religious Malcolm, but they still perceived him as a threat. On June 5, 1964, J. Edgar Hoover sent a telegram to the FBI’s New York office that simply and plainly instructed, “Do something about Malcolm X enough of this black violence in NY.”

During Malcolm’s era, in New York, the strategic operations of the FBI were frequently complemented by, if not coordinated with the New York City Police. As a result, the actions of the police on the day of Malcolm’s assassination were pointedly unusual. Normally, up to two-dozen police officers were assigned to his rallies. On February 21, 1965, just one week after his home had been fire bombed, none were assigned at the entrance of the Audubon Theater.

In retrospect, we may wonder what that something was, ultimately. We do not know, with certainty. However, what we do know is what subsequently happened to him. Perhaps…the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was simply a foil.

So, on April 27, 2010, Thomas Hagan gained a measure of freedom. By stepping out of prison, and into his future, he begins to reconstruct what is left of his life. He has been out of the game, at least in some part, more than four decades. It is difficult, at least for me, to avoid wondering what might be different had Malcolm been here to spend those decades, working in his own way, to retool America, and to reshape “We the People,” who live here. Because of his central role in Malcolm’s absence, “Thomas Hagan, AKA Talmadge X Hayer, is Someone You Should Know!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com / http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

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

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/17/opinion/ali-malcolm-x-assassination-anniversary/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/26/malcolmx.killer/index.html?hpt=Sbin

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-malcolm-x-killer,0,117782.story

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/04/27/2010-04-27_malcolm_x_assassin_thomas_hagan_is_freed_on_parole_in_new_york_city.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/20/nyregion/20parole.html

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

http://www.africawithin.com/malcolmx/malcolm.htm

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

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

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

http://crdl.usg.edu/people/a/aziz_muhammad_abdul_1939/?Welcome

http://www.experiencefestival.com/norman_3x_butler

http://nymag.com/news/features/38358/

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy

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

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

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

Ode to the Dean of Carolina Hoops

Posted on February 11, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

In the world of college hoops, a hand full of names, by their mere mention hearkens a groundswell of mental pictures and vivid recollections for the casual fan and the game’s connoisseur alike. Dean Edward Smith is one among that small elite cohort. There are others to be sure. Coach Wooden, Coach Rupp, Coach Krzyzewski, and increasingly, Coach Calipari are on a short list. But this post is about Coach Smith, the man who conceived and executed what came to be known as The Carolina Way.

This past Saturday night, former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith died after a lengthy illness. He was 83 years old. Coach Smith had been beset by neurological complications resulting from knee replacement surgery in 2007. As a result, eventually Coach Smith, who always preferred to maintain a low profile, became increasingly unavailable to media, and nearly invisible to the public. He did not travel to the 2009 Final Four in Detroit, where the Tar Heels won their 5^th National Title in basketball.

In the summer of 2010 Smith’s family released a statement that described their patriarch as having a progressive memory disorder. Earlier in the same year, during a February observance of the 100^th-anniversary season of Tar Heel Basketball, more than 70 of Coach Smith’s former players gathered at the basketball arena that bears his name. They came to pay tribute, to say thanks, and on some level to say good-bye. They assembled to honor the man who coached them through their college careers, and who followed their growth and development thereafter, whether it be as an NBA player, or as a physician, or as a school teacher, or in whatever capacity in which they may have landed in their post collegiate careers.

In the game of basketball, Dean Smith was a savant. In the game of life, he was a life coach and mentor that many of his players consulted in making decisions big and small. It was a role he relished. He understood that the acclaim that came his way accrued as a result of the success of his hoops pupils on the court and in the classroom, as well as in the lives they lived once they left Chapel Hill. It is especially important to include the classroom accomplishments as an integral part of Coach Smith’s tutelage.

His legacy, of course, covers an array of athletic superlatives, including having coached All-Americans such as Phil Ford, James Worthy, and Michael Jordan, having won 879 games (the most in college basketball history at the time of his retirement at age 66, after 36 years), having won two National Titles, having never finished lower than 3^rd in the ACC, the sport’s benchmark conference during his last 33 years, having coached in 23 consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1975–97), and having his teams advance to 13 straight Regional Semifinals, otherwise known as the Sweet 16 (1981-93). More important, he did this without a hint of NCAA impropriety, and with a sterling academic record by his teams.

In fact, while he won 77% of the games he coached, 96% of his lettermen earned their degree. Those closest to him insist he was far more upset about the 4% of student athletes who didn’t graduate, than the 23% of games he lost. As a basketball guru, he introduced a number of coaching innovations, including player huddles at the free-throw line, scorers pointing to the passer to acknowledge the assist, and the vaunted Four Corners, which was a key factor leading to the introduction of the shot clock and 3-point shot in the college game.

But Coach Smith understood that life was about more than basketball. He was instrumental in integrating the town of Chapel Hill, and recruited the first African American scholarship athlete, Charles Scott, to play basketball at the University of North Carolina. Scott’s arrival at North Carolina changed the calculus of ACC Basketball. It would never again be the same, and that was a good thing. Charles became the first of an influx of talented African Americans to play ACC Basketball. He was not the first black player in the conference; he was however, the first black star.

Coach Smith was known to be not only a Democrat, but as a staunch Liberal. More notably, he distinguished himself as a man committed to doing the right thing for the right reason.

A lot of basketball greats lauded Coach Smith this week. Mike Krzyzewski, John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Michael Jordan, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, and a host of others have weighed in. Each of them spoke about Coach Smith’s many attributes. Volumes have been written about the man, his talents and his accomplishments. Let’s be clear, Coach Smith was a man, not an angel, and certainly not the second coming. But let’s be equally clear, he was a great coach…and a better man. ESPN Classic will air more than 24 hours of programming to honor the legendary North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith starting on this evening at 7 p.m. ET. I urge you to find some time today or tomorrow to check it out. You are almost certain to learn something you did not know about Coach Smith.

Thus, I conclude my “Ode to the Dean of Carolina Hoops!” I’m done; holla back!

PS. GO HEELS!

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

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

http://www.amazon.com/The-Carolina-Way-Leadership-Coaching/dp/0143034642

http://www.dailypress.com/sports/uva/dp-spt-teel-column-dean-smith-20150210-column.html#page=1

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/02/president-obama-dean-smith

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/dean-smith-barack-obama-114997.html

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/02/10/dean-smith-death-north-carolina-espn-marathon

http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/08/4540569_tributes-to-dean-smith-from-beyond.html?rh=1

http://www.newsobserver.com/2015/02/08/4540475/mike-krzyzewski-on-dean-smith.html

http://kentuckysportsradio.com/main/coach-cal-remembers-dean-smith/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/wp/2015/02/08/michael-jordan-on-dean-smith-my-mentor-my-teacher-my-second-father/

http://www.foxsports.com/college-basketball/story/north-carolina-tar-heels-coach-dean-smith-dies-social-media-reaction-020815

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/02/09/dean-smith-north-carolina-death-tribute

http://thebiglead.com/2015/02/09/dean-smith-a-roundup-of-some-of-the-great-tributes-stories-and-perspectives/

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/michael-jordan-leads-tributes-dean-smith-article-1.2107289

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhqjp0MFkNc

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/02/08/dean-smith-north-carolina-coach-tribute

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/102975/paying-tribute-to-the-legendary-dean-smith

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/10545949/precious-memories-dean-smith-story

House Republicans Vote to Repeal the Affordable Care Act: A Prime Example of Public Officials Taking Action Not in the Best Interest of the Citizenry

Posted on February 4, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

The United States House of Representatives has voted dozens of times (at least 54) to overturn some or all of the health care initiative known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or more familiarly, Obamacare. In past instances, the action was moot, virtually from the start, since Democrats controlled the Senate, and the measure stood absolutely no chance of passing in that Chamber. In fact, it would likely never even be put to a vote while the Senate was under the leadership of Nevada Senator Harry Reid.

However, those dynamics changed, effective last November when Republicans gained control of the Senate due to the outcome of the 2014 General Election. Now, there is every reason to believe the Senate will not only entertain the bill, but will probably attempt to join the House in passing it.

To be sure wherever politics are involved, there will be parsing. Technically, it is true, the GOP has voted to repeal Obamacare…in its entirety, only six times. One could argue that the first five were enough, but oh well, nothing beats a failure but a try, or six tries, or in the case of elements of Obamacare 56 tries. I guess the 56th time is the charm.

Yes, depending upon your perspective, perhaps you prefer to ignore the assaults on the program that were intended only to undo portions of the program, or forget about those efforts that would have delayed portions of the healthcare law. Of course if you did that, you would be choosing to ignore the point that each and every measure, whether proportional or nuclear, was intended, in the end, to erase eradicate, and destroy the President’s health care law. In that spirit, 56 times sounds about right.

So yesterday, by a vote of 239-186, the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, in its entirety. Thus, the GOP fired the first salvo at Obamacare, under the aegis of the newly constructed 114^th Congress. Some suggest yesterday’s vote was a mere meaningless gesture, an act to welcome the newbies to the party.

One writer, the Atlantic’s Russell Berman framed it thusly:

They’re doing it for the freshmen — that is, the 47 House Republicans who just took office a month ago and have never had the high honor and privilege of voting to repeal Obamacare. By holding the vote, these lawmakers can head back to their districts and tell their constituents that yes; they did everything they could to get rid of the reviled law.

Added one GOP aide: “We’re just getting it out of the way.”

The larger reality is it is clear this is just the beginning of a new series of assaults on the program, launched by the Republican-controlled Congress. While the Senate is likely to consider the bill soon, in all probability, it will be filibustered there. However, in the unlikely event that lawmakers in the Senate broker a bill to totally repeal Obamacare that clears the Senate, an all but certain veto waits when it reaches the President’s desk.

And then, there is the Supreme Court, which will in the next six months consider elements of the law when it weighs in on the King v. Burwell case, in which some subsidies offered by the ACA are being challenged. If the High Court upholds the verdict reached in a lower court, it would severely undermine Obamacare, and strengthen the GOP’s efforts to squash the law. To that end, there is increasing pressure on the GOP to move into a proactive phase, and actually devise a substitute for the current law. In fact, yesterday’s measure directed a House Committee to begin work on an alternative to the ACA.

For their part, Democrats are skeptical the GOP can or will actually be able to craft compromise legislation that surgically excises the parts of the legislation they don’t like, while in effect holding harmless the elements they find acceptable.

Representative Jim Himes (Democrat – Connecticut) put it this way:

“Make no mistake, the replacement plan is a total red herring. They would have you believe that you can get rid of all the stuff that makes you uncomfortable — the mandate, the subsidies — but keep all the good stuff. And that’s just fairytale. … It’s just dishonesty. They’ve had years and years and years to come up with a replacement plan and haven’t done so, so this is a little too cute for school.”

Yesterday’s vote was significant in that three Republicans resisted the powerful allure of Party Leadership and voted against the effort to fully repeal Obamacare. This is the first time any Republican in Congress ever voted against total repeal.

John Katko, New York, Bruce Poliquin, Maine, and Robert Dold, Illinois, all who hold seats held in the previous term by Democrats, and likely to be contested in 2016, voted against the measure. Democrats cited votes by Dold, who served in the House in the 2011-2013 term, to repeal the law, as well as statements by freshman Poliquin, vowing to do the same.

According to Josh Schwerin, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee:

“Congressmen Dold and Poliquin appear to be hoping voters will forget their original pandering on health care. As we get closer to Election Day, we will see more and more of these chameleon votes.”

No Democrat crossed party lines to support yesterday’s bill.

If you are a student of history, or politics, or perhaps a movie buff, it’s time to stock up on popcorn and your beverage of choice. The action is just getting started, and it looks as though it may come fast and furious.

The hyperbole associated with the ACA has been pervasive. Despite it, there is clear evidence that tens of millions more people are insured, children get to spend more time on their parents policies, pre-existing conditions do not result in disqualifying individuals for coverage, and the rate/pace at which the cost of health insurance premiums increase has slowed. When these pints are taken into consideration, we are left with…”House Republicans Vote to Repeal the Affordable Care Act: A Prime Example of Public Officials Taking Action Not in the Best Interests of the Citizenry!”

I’m done; holla back!

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

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

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/02/03/gop-house-votes-to-repeal-obamacare/

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/3-republicans-say-no-as-house-again-votes-obamacare-repeal-114882.html

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/3/house-votes-repeal-replace-obamacare/

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/02/why-republicans-are-voting-to-repeal-obamacare-again/385105/

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-new-productive-congress-takes-a-voteto-repeal-obamacare-20150203-column.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2015/02/03/morning-plum-todays-gop-vote-to-repeal-obamacare-is-a-very-big-deal-heres-why/

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-gop-approves-full-repeal-obamacare-again-n299616

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/no-house-republicans-havent-voted-50-times-to-repeal-obamacare/article/2545733

http://twitchy.com/2015/02/03/house-votes-239-186-to-repeal-obamacare-all-democrats-vote-no/

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/rep_john_katko_splits_with_republicans_on_vote_to_repeal_obamacare.html

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2015/02/03/383353930/milestone-house-vote-would-take-health-care-away-from-millions

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2015/02/03/382557922/life-in-the-new-washington-in-your-face-no-in-your-face

http://www.politicususa.com/2014/12/29/president-obama-named-admired-man-world-7th-straight-year.html

http://www.gallup.com/poll/180365/barack-obama-hillary-clinton-extend-run-admired.aspx

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/03/21/the-house-has-voted-54-times-in-four-years-on-obamacare-heres-the-full-list/

Sarah Says: POTUS is Like “An Overgrown Little Boy”

Posted on January 28, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

To be more precise, this is the direct quote the former (underscore unsuccessful) Vice Presidential candidate used recently to describe the President:

“An impatient president doesn’t just get to trample our Constitution and ignore Congress just because he doesn’t get exactly what he wants every time he wants it,” Palin said. “It’s like an overgrown little boy who’s just acting kind of spoiled. And moms, we don’t put up with that, do we?”

I’ve grown accustomed, over the years, to taking most comments made by the partial-term Alaska Governor with a grain or two, or twenty, of salt. She has a knack for creatively influencing media coverage with the best of them. Of course, she is most effective when operating in the friendly (to her) confines of the Fox News studio.

Alas, I confess, when she chimes in, or rather endorses the oft-repeated GOP meme of Obama as infant, I am more than a little troubled. This past Saturday at U.S. Representative Steve King’s (Republican – Iowa) Iowa Freedom Summit, Mrs. Palin joined a number of other Republican voices in promulgating the next new attempt to minimize the stature and significance of the Leader of the Free World.

Infantilizing rhetoric such as the quote above is becoming a GOP norm with this President. A few examples include:

A few years ago, U.S. Representative Joe Walsh, Republican – Illinois, characterized President Obama as being “like a teenage boy.” Representative Walsh went on to add, “House Republicans effectively played the role of Obama’s parents.”

Rush Limbaugh has referred to President Obama as “the little black man-child,” and further compared him to “a little boy” that women voters “want to protect.”

The Wall Street Journal ran a piece last year in which a former Bush/Cheney administration official accused President Obama and his team of being “self-obsessed teenagers.” All total, the piece referred to President Obama and his team as “teenagers” six times in nine paragraphs.

Republicans have systematically skewered Democratic Presidents going at least as far back as Presidents Carter and Clinton. In those cases, however, the pattern did not include the insinuation that the President was less than adult. Frankly, all the certain to be deniers notwithstanding, it strikes me as just a sneakily backhanded way to malign and otherwise disparage a black man, who just happens to be Commander-in-Chief, by calling him “boy.” It is a slur. Not so vile and repugnant as the infamous N-word, but a racial slur, nonetheless.

All this reviewing of the GOP mind set regarding the President leads me to an interesting idea. Mrs. Palin has exuberantly told us what she thinks of our President. In turn, I wonder, what do you, gentle readers, think of the imperious Sarah Palin? Let’s transform this post into our very own plebiscite. That’s right; I am inviting you the readers of this post to weigh in and share your thoughts on Mrs. Palin. Feel free to make your opinion known, be it brief or exhaustive.

In my own view, if one were comparing and/or contrasting President Obama to any of the characters referenced above who assessed, shall we say, his “level of maturity,” versus theirs, objective observers would almost certainly find unanimously, that President Obama is the “adult in the room.”

“Sarah Says: POTUS is Like “An Overgrown Little Boy!”” What do you say? Comments are welcome; let me know by responding in the Blog Comment Section.

I’m done; holla back!

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

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

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/palin-sees-obama-overgrown-little-boy?cid=eml_mra

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

http://www.iafreedomsummit.com

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

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/01/24/palin-criticizes-obama-immigration-policy-iowa/V5djMwmMRJeWeYfr0crMrM/story.html?comments=all&sort=OLDEST_CREATE_DT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiEJQCB37bo

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gop-2016-hopefuls-gather-iowa-steve-kings-freedom-summit

http://crooksandliars.com/cltv/2015/01/palin-calls-president-obama-overgrown

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/01/24/palin-on-exec-amnesty-spoiled-obama-acting-like-overgrown-little-boy/

http://www.trendolizer.com/2015/01/palin-sees-obama-as-an-overgrown-little-boy.html

http://buppey.com/racist-speech-sarah-palin-calls-obama-overgrown-little-boy-video/

http://www.perspectives.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=259733

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Walsh_(Illinois_politician)

State of the Union: Designated Survivor

Posted on January 21, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

The State of the Union Address…that moment each year, but especially during non-General Election years, when the President of the United States addresses the entire nation in Prime Time. Following last night’s address, President Obama’s penultimate, Republicans offered a rebuttal. Then, Cable News networks and a plethora of print and digital media parsed the speech and enthusiastically told us where and why the President failed or succeeded in setting a tone and laying a course FORWARD! Therefore, I’ll skip the opportunity to pile on what the “experts” have already told you.

That is not what this brief post is about. Rather, it centers on an obscure, but time-honored tradition (dating back to the Cold War years), of identifying a State of the Union Designated Survivor (SOTUDS). This year, that individual is Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

I was both interested and intrigued by President Obama’s selection this year because Secretary Foxx is a North Carolina native, a Charlottean, and former Mayor of North Carolina’s Queen City. To be sure, there is no circumstance imaginable under which we hope Mr. Foxx, or anyone else in this position would be required to ascend to and assume the responsibilities of the Presidency. Consider it a prudent, if not necessary precaution. But should the unthinkable have occurred and the Capitol and all in it have been destroyed in some kind of disastrous attack, Secretary Foxx would assume the reins of authority of the most powerful nation on earth.

You may not know it, but the SOTUDS is accorded many of the protections and protocols of the President…for one night. Those amenities included full Secret Service Protection, and a military aide carrying a briefcase with the codes to launch nuclear weapons. The position has often been held by a Cabinet Member, and must be someone Constitutionally eligible to become President. This caveat means some Administration officials, e.g., Sally Jewell, the British-born Secretary of the Interior, are not permitted to hold the position.

While it’s admittedly a cool gig, with little likelihood of turning into an immediate new long term job opportunity, complete with almost unfathomable responsibilities for the position’s occupant, it does come with what many of the highest Federal officials might consider a prime perk; the chance to engage in the pomp and circumstance of the State of the Union.

As a side bar note, it is frequently reported that a number of members of Congress spend hours, some arriving at the Capitol Building as early as 8 or 9 a.m. on the morning of the President’s address, just to get preferential aisle seats. Of course, members of the Administration would not likely take such extreme action. The point, however, is for many in political Washington, the President’s Cabinet included; the State of the Union Address is a proverbial hot ticket item. One which Secretary Fox missed it.

On the off chance the unpredictable, unimaginable, indefensible should have happened last night, Secretary Foxx would have instantaneously transformed from being the man behind many men and women to “the man!” Not surprisingly, it did not happen. So fear not citizens; no Independence Day (the movie), no foreign invasion, and no natural disaster exploding, or otherwise destroying our beloved and majestic Capitol last night. Alas, Secretary Foxx will have to wait his turn and perhaps actually run for the nation’s highest office, in order to become the first North Carolinian since Andrew Johnson, and the second African American to occupy the White House.

Now, I return you to your regular programming, which may include a cornucopia of talking heads extolling, decrying, or simply parsing the President’s comments. Weigh them for yourself; judge them according to your own standards and measures. Have at it. Meanwhile, my shout of the day goes to “State of the Union: Designated Survivor”…Secretary Anthony Foxx!

I’m done; holla back!

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

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

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

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

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/20/politics/state-of-the-union-2015-transcript-full-text/index.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/01/20/using-data-and-logic-and-science-to-figure-out-tonights-likely-designated-survivor/

https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/557707522237538304

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/20/this-man-is-the-state-of-the-union-s-designated-survivor.html

http://time.com/3675673/state-union-designated-survivor/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2015/01/20/obama-designated-survivor-state-of-the-union-ernest-moniz-sally-jewell/22051655/

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/anthony-foxx-meet-state-union-2015s-designated-survivor/story?id=28354604

http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house/if-the-worst-happens-at-the-state-of-the-union-anthony-foxx-will-lead-the-country-20150120

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/01/20/transportation-secretary-anthony-foxx-to-be-designated-survivor-during-state/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/20/designated-survivor_n_6471520.html

http://www.670kboi.com/common/more.php?m=151&ts=1421802821&article=BCC9F30DA10A11E4B51EFEFDADE6840A&mode=2

British Prime Minister: Fox Pundit “A Complete Idiot!”

Posted on January 14, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

American Conservatives seem to actively seek out opportunities to try and insert a wedge between President Obama and our allies. No, it’s not just the American voters. They often start conversations with anecdotes about how the President has deferred to our enemies, and dissed our friends. The current meme revolves around the President not going to Paris last weekend to attend the Unity Rally.

Of course, had he attended, critics would have insisted it was just a glorified photo-op. But that’s beside the point. In fact President Obama has actually conceded, the Administration should have been represented. At least his humility is in tact.

It’s harder to reach that conclusion about some of the Conservatives. One such hardliner, Steven Emerson, a supposed “Internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national security,” recently said on Fox News, “In Britain, it’s not just no-go zones, there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in.”

Now that is a bold and bodacious claim in its own right. But Mr. Emerson did not stop there. He further stated, in “parts of London, there are actual religious police that actually beat and actually wound seriously anyone who doesn’t dress according to religious Muslim attire.”

London, of course, is the Capital and largest city in England and the United Kingdom, with a population of over nine million people; Birmingham is the second largest city, with over one million residents. For a Conservative, there is a certain irony that Mr. Emerson’s takes such liberal license when purportedly dispensing facts. In this case, his commentary went viral, and resulted in a deluge of Twitter mockery employing the hashtag #foxnewsfacts.

In response to the wave of protest and dissent, including that of British Prime Minister, David Cameron (More on the Prime Minister’s reaction momentarily) Mr. Emerson recanted. Well, sort of. He said, “I am issuing an apology and correction on my website immediately, for having made this comment about the beautiful city of Birmingham.” And with that, he did apologize. He simply didn’t take the story down on his website. SMH!

Back to David Cameron, who had this to say: “When I heard this, frankly, I choked on my porridge and I thought it must be April Fool’s Day,” adding, “This guy is clearly a complete idiot.”

In a different interview, Gisela Stuart, who represents Birmingham in the House of Commons, added, “I checked whether this was some kind of early April Fool spoof, and then I thought he was talking about Birmingham, Alabama. But then I realized he was just utterly and completely wrong.”

The reality is Birmingham’s Muslim population is 22%. Not 100%, or 80%, or even 50%. There are plenty of non-Muslims who live in, and go to, the city every day. There is also no such thing as “Muslim religious police” – in London, Birmingham, or any other part of the UK – beating anyone. Go figure.

When you are considered an “Internationally recognized expert on terrorism and national security,” you likely have numerous opportunities to weigh in on the subject. It appears Mr. Emerson has had his share. In that regard, paraphrasing Country Music singer Vern Gosdin, “This Was Not His First Rodeo.”

In 1995, Mr. Emerson had this to say: “Oklahoma City, I can tell you, is probably considered one of the largest centers of Islamic radical activity outside the Middle East.” He made this bold assertion just after the Oklahoma City Bombing…and just before anti-government radical Timothy McVeigh was arrested for it. Oops!

Even in a world with no more elections, President Obama, faced with Birthers, bellyachers, and would be blockers, on a daily basis, is unlikely to characterize any of his detractors in such direct, even if accurate, terms. Alas, here is one instance in which a bona fide ally has communicated with unequivocal candor the lack of intellectual heft and veracity associated this specific conservative’s argument and logic. British Prime Minister: Fox Pundit “A Complete Idiot!” If you’ll allow me to channel President Obama for a moment, I imagine he is at least thinking, “Long live David Cameron.”

I’m done; holla back!

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

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

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/uks-cameron-calls-fox-pundit-complete-idiot?cid=eml_mra_20150113

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOKM4uU5ins

http://www.theguardian.com/media/shortcuts/2015/jan/12/steven-emerson-muslims-birmingham-error-fox-news

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11340399/David-Cameron-US-terror-expert-Steve-Emerson-is-a-complete-idiot.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2905876/Fox-News-terror-expert-apologises-claiming-Birmingham-totally-Muslim-non-Muslims-just-simply-don-t-in.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/11/world/gallery/paris-unity-rally/

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

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

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

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

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

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Ain’t_My_First_Rodeo

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

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

The GOP Has Taken Over Congress: Are You Ready for This?

Posted on January 7, 2015 by alphaheel

It’s Time to Break It Down!

Yesterday, as dictated by the U.S. Constitution, Congress convened at noon. On the Senate floor, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky automatically ascended to Majority Leaded, based on a vote by rank-and-file members late last year. On the other side of the Capitol, there was slightly more suspense as a group of hard core Right Wing members acted on their vow to oppose Representative John Boehner from Ohio.

I’ll spare you the gritty details. Twenty-four members voted for a candidate other than Mr. Boehner. The Speaker won on the first ballot, collecting 216 votes. And they are off.

Over the past 6 years, the GOP has made pretty much every effort to circle the wagons and oppose President Obama at every front. Now that, for the first time during Mr. Obama’s tenure, he will face opposition from a majority of Republicans in both Houses of Congress, there are reasons to believe that the GOP will intensify their efforts. A significant basis for such reasoning stems from the prognoses offered by prominent members of the Republican Party. Senator McConnell has promised to forge ahead with legislation to force approval of the TransCanada Corps Keystone XL pipeline. Many Democrats, including the President see this project as a threat to the environment. Supporters, mostly Republicans argue the project will create jobs and increase North American energy security.

Another item Republicans vow to challenge is funding for Homeland Security. Republicans have threatened to compartmentalize and parcel out funding for the agency in an effort to limit resources aimed at facilitating the President’s Executive Order on immigration, as well as the President’s actions to normalize relations with Cuba. One-way of looking at the matter is, New Year, same goal…stop Obama. However, now, the loyal opposition, which is probably a misnomer, is buttressed by having secured a majority in both Houses of Congress.

There is general agreement that the President’s initiatives and policies are frequently a target of fierce opposition by Republicans. However, the basis for the opposition is widely debated. As a rule, Republicans insist they simply disagree with the President’s policies. They add his initiatives are too liberal, cost too much money, are too restrictive of the private sector, limit job creation, and slow the economy. In fact, this narrative was at the top of the news cycle as Democrats got their proverbial clocks cleaned during the midyear elections in 2014.This often specious line of reasoning persists, despite the facts on the ground.

Which facts are those, you may ask? I’m glad you asked!

The pertinent facts relative to this specific discussion are:

January 2009………………………………………November 2014

(When President Obama Took Office)

7,949…………………The Dow Jones Index……………..17,390

7.8%…………………..Unemployment…………………….. 5.9%

-5.4%………………….GDP Growth………………………….4.6%

9.8%…………………..Deficit GDP %………………………. 2.8%

37.7……………………Consumer Confidence……………..94.5

Also under President Obama’s leadership, the economy has added private sector jobs for 57 straight months. During this span, 10.9 million private sector jobs have been created. – See more at: http://www.dpcc.senate.gov/?p=blog&id=172#sthash.U6oVuYLM.dpuf

Many of the President’s supporters have the temerity to assert that at least some of the visceral anger surrounding the debate on President Obama and is policies has a racial component. Actually, that is the claim to which many of the President’s critics default. In point of counterfactual order, I am compelled to note that one of the most ardent members of the President’s opposition, Rush Limbaugh, makes the claim that Mr. Obama has gotten a break…because he is black. He contended just this week, “It’s Much Easier To Throw In With The First African American President Than To Oppose Him,” or else you “Might Face Allegations Of Racism.”

In other words, the people who experience racism, and deign to speak about it, are the racists. What a stroke of journalistic brilliance that is! But it’s not just conservative journalists…and radio entertainers, who have interesting views and associations relative to this matter.

Recently, there was a flap about a speaking engagement Representative Steve Scalise, of Louisiana, who when he was a State Representative spoke to a racist organization founded by David Duke, former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. The group, called EURO, is short for European-American Unity and Rights Organization. When the speech came to light last week, Representative Scalise denied he knew the group’s leanings, or the meaning of the event.

This was his story, despite the fact that at the time, Mr. Duke was one of the most prominent residents of his state, and his association with the Klan, well known, if not legendary. All of this has substantial significance because, among other things, he is the new House Majority Whip. The apparent affinity of the GOP with the ideals of racializing politics has been an active reality since Mr. Nixon rolled out the “Southern strategy” in 1968. The concept was designed to leverage the racial resentment of whites over federally mandated integration into an electoral majority. The rest, as they say is history.

Even some conservatives question the viability of Mr. Scalise’s see no evil protestation. Erick Erickson, a prominent conservative blogger tweeted: How Do You Show Up at a David Duke Event and Not Know What It Is?”

Speaker Boehner was placed in the unenviable position of defending his new Whip. He characterized Mr. Scalise’s speaking to white supremacists as “an error in judgment,” and he noted Scalise was “right to acknowledge it was wrong and inappropriate.” Despite his faux pas, Speaker Boehner called Scalise “a man of high integrity and good character.” Other friends and supporters chimed in with evidence of how demonstrably non-racist the gentleman from Louisiana truly is. After all, he was an early supporter of Governor Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana, and an Indian American. Check. He coached in a predominantly black New Orleans basketball league. Check. He voted against the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. OK, nobody is perfect.

American demographics are changing. If the GOP is to thrive and survive, it will need to be agile, innovative, and flexible. It will ultimately need to devise effective strategies to appeal to a diverse array of citizens. However, all things considered, one way not to attract African American and Latino voters — in fact, one way to repel them, along with the votes of some whites as well — is to continue to act in ways that demonstrate the party is still happy to welcome the support of unrepentant racists and anti-Semites.

It is altogether conceivable that the Republican Party will say clearly that anyone associated with David Duke, his organizations, or any racist association should find somebody else for whom to vote…someday. But apparently, if the Scalise saga is any indication, that day has yet to come. So, “The GOP Has Taken Over Congress: Are You Ready for This?”

I’m done; holla back!

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

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

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/01/06/new-congress-being-sworn-in-with-gop-in-charge/21125465/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/boehner-faces-leadership-challenge-from-conservative-members/2015/01/06/1c047668-95c1-11e4-aabd-d0b93ff613d5_story.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-the-gops-bad-habit/2015/01/01/39965d0c-9136-11e4-a412-4b735edc7175_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/01/05/the-new-congress-is-80-percent-white-80-percent-male-and-92-percent-christian/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/02/a-cop-in-ukraine-said-he-was-detaining-me-because-i-was-black-i-appreciated-it/

http://www.dpcc.senate.gov/?p=blog&id=172

http://mediamatters.org/video/2015/01/05/limbaugh-republicans-plan-to-compromise-with-ob/202015

http://mediamatters.org/video/2012/12/12/limbaugh-i-dont-say-this-with-animus-but-obama/191823

http://mediamatters.org/video/2014/12/23/limbaugh-rants-against-idea-of-a-black-james-bo/201991

http://mediamatters.org/video/2014/05/23/limbaugh-i-think-i-am-one-of-the-few-who-actual/199450

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/220814-federal-deficit-falls-to-483-billion

Happy New Year; Here’s to Auld Lang Syne!

Posted on December 31, 2014 by alphaheel

It’s time to Break It Down!

Revised from the Break It Down post originally conceived, created, and published December 29, 2010.

The one-half fortnight between Christmas and New Year’s Days is a unique occurrence in the unfolding of the American edition of the Gregorian Calendar. It is the only instance in which the space of a mere seven days separates two major holidays. Unquestionably, the timing is propitious. Millions of holiday travelers return home from their Christmas commemoration and revelry, just in time to get a day off to “celebrate” the New Year…and recuperate from the old, most notably their extracurricular activities, including the exploits of New Year’s Eve.

In last week’s post, I opted not to present a re-airing my personally crafted Christmas e-concert (12 Days of Christmas: The Concert – Redux) from the past Noels. This week, however, I reverted to my trusty time capsule. Today’s edition is effectively a re-posting of a previous New Year’s blog. Once again, this tack permits new readers to catch-up by seeing the piece, it allows long-time readers to reflect upon both the passing year as well as the theme lifted in the post, and finally, it ensures that those busy readers, with no time to invest in checking out a blog during the holidays, will not have to miss anything. It’s a win, win…win!

So with that loosely framed preamble behind us, here’s the déjà vu all over again:

Since we are still in the Sweet Spot of the holidays, I shall practice minimalism. For your purposes, that means the blog should be available, but not intrusive. To that end, I

am taking a page from the Christmas e-concert, but going a step further. Instead of a concert, I give you a song…of reflection.

Robert Burns, a Scot, wrote a poem (Auld Lang Syne) in 1788 that has come to symbolize the spirit of mass contemplation that people around the world invoke as the clock strikes midnight, signaling not just the dawn of a new day, but of a new year. Undoubtedly, you have been somewhere, at sometime, when you joined those assembled to sing Auld Lang Syne, which loosely translated means, Times gone by.

Once again, that time is upon us. After thoughtful reflection on my 2014, I have had no choice but to conclude, my travails have been few and small, especially when compared to my blessings, which have been both abundant and vast! All praises to the one true, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God; a mighty fortress is He.

No need to thank me for my inherent thoughtfulness. But, by all means, “Drink a cup of kindness,” or eggnog, or Champagne, or “name your favorite adult beverage,” for me. And, if you are a teetotaler, water will do nicely, thank-you!

As I complete my last post for this year, and, prayerfully and faithfully prepare to embrace 2015, I leave with you this familiar Irish Toast:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I invite you to click on the link below, which leads to a Smooth Jazz interpretation of Auld Lang Syne, arranged and performed by Donnie Thomas (and listen to the remainder of this week’s edition of Break It Down):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bffBdmlf0Wo

It has been my unique honor and privilege to visit with you briefly for each of the 52 weeks this year. I hope you have derived a fraction of the pleasure reading the blog posts that I have experienced from preparing and providing them to you. In full disclosure, yesterday was my birthday. As such, it may not mean much to you, and that’s OK, but I am humbled to have spent part of my “personal holiday” crafting today’s post…for you. May 2015 bring you the fulfillment of all your fondest desires. Happy New Year; Here’s to Auld Lang Syne!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bffBdmlf0Wo

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/question279.htm

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

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

Bring The Facts…Or Stay Home!

Posted on December 24, 2014 by alphaheel

Bring The Facts…Or Stay Home!

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful day of fun, feasting, and family.

For several years, I have run what amounts to a Holiday template post during Christmas week. After considerable thought, I decided to deviate from that practice for today’s edition. I understand all the reasons I normally opt not to create new material are in full effect. It’s Christmastime in the city, and the country, and all across the land. Very few people will be allocating time to read a blog. Cool, you have to do what you have to do!

However, this is a special moment in time. The nation is inundated with tensions and hotspots, borne of organized responses to a number of incidents in which police officers have killed unarmed civilians, and District Attorneys or Grand Juries have not found probable cause to file charges against the officers in question.

Before going any further, I must stipulate, police officers are not unequivocally the enemy…period. That is without caveat.

Simultaneously, it is absolutely imperative to enunciate, as clearly as possible, the ranting of select Republicans notwithstanding, to be anti-police brutality, is not to be anti-police. To be in favor of police reform is not to favor killing, harming, or otherwise attacking police officers.

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York, contends that President Obama is the catalyst for Ismaaiyl Brinsley’s execution of New York Police Officers Rafael Ramos, 40, and Wenjian Liu, 32, last Saturday in Brooklyn. Before shooting the officers, the 28 year-old Brinsley shot his 29 year-old ex-girlfriend, Shaneka Thompson, in Owings Mills, Maryland. about 15 miles outside Baltimore. According to the former Mayor, “We’ve had four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everybody should hate the police.”

Mr. Giuliani has been particularly harsh not only in criticizing President Obama, but also in tying him directly to a broader effort to foment racial dissension in America. He laid the foundation for that specter last month by placing the onus for police treatment of blacks on black crime, citing the statistic that blacks kill 93% of blacks that are murdered. As I have noted previously, this factoid, viewed alone is deceptive as it relates to degree of strength as a causal factor. It totally ignores the fact that murder is typically a crime of passion and/or convenience or accessibility. In other words, the corollary is also true for whites. As a point of comparison, whites kill 84% of whites that are murdered. In short, whether you are black or white, if you are killed, the likelihood is that it will be by someone of the same race as you.

Representative Peter King, of New York, joins Giuliani in this version of the blame game. He argued, “Obama, de Blasio, Al Sharpton and those in the media need to “stop the cop bashing and anti-police rhetoric.” And the drumbeat goes on.

Add conservative blogger Michelle Malkin to the list. She proffered this sentiment: “Obama used his bully pulpit this week to bemoan the ‘real issues’ of discrimination by some police officers. But he said nothing about the murderous strain of racial animus against America’s men and women in blue.”

Then, there is former Congressman Joe Walsh (R-Ill.). He has been tweeting on this topic. In an e-mail to The Washington Post Fact Checker, Walsh said he believes de Blasio, Holder and Obama “have the blood of those two NYPD cops who were killed this past weekend on their hands. All three “responded by stressing how racist America still is, how understandable urban black anger is toward the police, and how police need to re-train and reform. They put all the onus on the police and created the clear atmosphere for people to be angry at and disrespectful toward police. … What they should have done is come out and say succinctly — ‘The judicial system has spoken, respect the decision, cops are good, don’t resist arrest, never ever attack a cop, and don’t you dare riot, loot, and burn.”

The Fact Checker went to work to test the validity of these assertions. They looked at what President Obama said on the deaths of Brown and Garner, with a focus on his statements from August, immediately after Brown’s death. This would have been the beginning of Giuliani’s calculation of four months.

It turns out that none of President Obama’s statements speak any ill of police officers or condone violence among those reacting to the deaths.

In President Obama’s initial statement three days after the shooting, he urged the public against violence. Violence and unrest nonetheless erupted in Ferguson. Protesters took to the streets, lighting structures on fire and looting stores. Police officers responded with machine guns and other military-style equipment.

President Obama gave an update two days later, speaking directly to the violence in Ferguson. He said he expressed concernabout the violence to Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D). “There is never an excuse for violence against police, or for those who would use this tragedy as a cover for vandalism or looting. There’s also no excuse for police to use excessive force against peaceful protests, or to throw protesters in jail for lawfully exercising their First Amendment rights.”

Four days later, President Obama spoke again about Ferguson. He announced Attorney General Holder’s plan to travel to Ferguson to meet with FBI agents, Justice Department personnel conducting the federal criminal investigation into the shooting, and community leaders “whose support is so critical to bringing about peace and calm in Ferguson.” He added: “Giving into anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions and stir chaos. It undermines rather than advancing justice.”

One statement from this briefing seems to directly contradict claims that President Obama immediately took the side of the protesters, thereby launching “anti-police rhetoric”: “I have to be very careful about not prejudging these events before investigations are completed because, although these are issues of local jurisdiction, the DOJ works for me, and when they’re conducting an investigation, I’ve got to make sure that I don’t look like I’m putting my thumb on the scales one way or the other.”

Holder quickly became the face of the administration responding to Ferguson. He repeatedly talked about reducing tensions between law enforcement and the community it serves. He and President Obama have spoken on the mistrust toward law enforcement in minority communities, and their personal experiences as men of African American descent. But neither has criticized police officers of systemic racism, or called on the public to be outraged at police officers.

President Obama offered one of his most pointed criticisms about police training and practices after Ferguson during his December interview on BET, but it’s a stretch to characterize that as “propaganda” for everyone to “hate the police”:

“The vast majority of law enforcement officers are doing a really tough job,

and most of them are doing it well and are trying to do the right thing. But

a combination of bad training, in some cases; a combination in some

cases of departments that really are not trying to root out biases, or

tolerate sloppy police work; a combination in some cases of folks just not

knowing any better, and in a lot of cases, subconscious fear of folks who

look different — all of this contributes to a national problem that’s going to

require a national solution.”

After a grand jury decided not to indict officials in the case of Garner’s death, President Obama said “law enforcement has an incredibly difficult job … there’s real crime out there that they’ve got to tackle day in and day out — but that they’re only going to be able to do their job effectively if everybody has confidence in the system. And right now, unfortunately, we are seeing too many instances where people just do not have confidence that folks are being treated fairly.” He added that it was his job as president to solve the problem of people not being treated equally under the law.

Giuliani said leaders like Obama, Holder and de Blasio are perpetuating a myth that there is systemic police brutality. Fact Checker found no evidence that Obama and Holder believe police brutality is a systemic problem. However, Obama and Holder have spoken about systemic mistrust among minorities about how they are treated by police.

Ironically, Giuliani himself was once accused of fostering an atmosphere of police violence. A Haitian immigrant who was sodomized by New York City police officers claimed — then recanted — that the officers invoked Giuliani’s name (“It’s Giuliani time!”) during the assault. So the former mayor should be especially wary of making broad-brush claims that the rhetoric of senior officials is to blame for the actions of individuals.

Fact Checker concluded: “Mr. Giuliani has a point that there is growing animosity among protesters toward police officers. That may have contributed to the actions of individuals such as Brinsley. But the burden of proof rests with the speaker. We combed through President Obama’s speeches and can find no evidence of “propaganda” that “everybody should hate the police.”

The United States of America is indeed a special place. Law Enforcement Officers hold a unique place in our society. At their best, they do everything form the mundane to the sublime to help ensure that our communities function effectively, efficiently, safely and securely. I stand first in line to thank them for their service. However, from time to time, some of them cross the line, and we have far too many examples of that. When that happens, people of good will must respond. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is quoted as having said, “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”

So while we are at it, let’s not just push back on all that Obama hate; let’s show him some well-deserved props for the following:

Lower gas prices (Actually under $2.00 in some places according to CNN)
5% economic growth…strongest in ii years
Stock Market finished the day yesterday above 18,000 (first time EVER)
More Americans with health insurance

I salute you Mr. President! To summarize, conservatives have blamed President Obama for every ill in this country from the abysmal Hurricane Katrina response (which occurred before his Presidency…and under one of their own), to the failing economy (which he inherited, but is continuing to rebound nicely), to the death of two New York police officers last Saturday (See item 1-10 above). As with most of the politically motivated rhetoric aimed at crippling him and/or his agenda, a load of specious misinformation. “Bring The Facts…Or Stay Home!”

I’m done; holla back!

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