Stefan

The nation’s top court just handed Black voters another big win. The Supreme Court on Monday, June 26 lifted its hold on a Louisiana case that could force the state to redraw congressional districts to boost Black voting power. The order follows the court's rejection earlier in June of a congressional redistricting map in Alabama and unfreezes the Louisiana case, which had been on hold pending the decision in Alabama. In both states, Black voters are a majority in just one congressional district. Lower courts had ruled that the maps raised concerns that Black voting power had been diluted, in violation of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act. About a third of Louisiana's residents are Black. More than one in four Alabamians are Black. Personally, I am pleased.

@ProfD A majority of White folks didn't want several things. But they still came to pass. It's simply a matter of positioning your goals, reasonings and arguments clearly and convincingly. Obama and Biden succeeded by building political and voting coalitions.

@Pioneer1 You mean you actually DO NOT know the long and tortured history of how Black people actually won their right to vote in the U.S.? A lot of it was fits and starts. A lot of violence. Read "Eyes on the Prize." I always knew you were a dullard. But that statement actually surprises me. It shouldn't though. Since you were the clown who swore the fortunes of Black Americans would vastly improve immediately if they abandoned their current religious beliefs and adopted the worship and veneration of African spirits. And you did say that. Let me see. What else did you demand? That ALL Blacks leave California because you're still butthurt over a jaywalking citation you got in that state years ago? Hard to let that simmering anger go, eh? Do you know when I first realized you were just plain stupid? It was after the May 2022 Buffalo Tops supermarket massacre in which 10 innocent Black men and women were murdered. The killer, 18-year old Peyton S. Gendron, had already been disarmed, subdued and arrested. Pre-trial hearings were underway and a bevy of news columnists and opinion writers were busily trying to make sense of the hate that drove Gendron. I knew that dude would never be free again. But YOU wanted a group of armed-to-the teeth Black men to travel to this northwestern New York State city to take revenge. Kinda stupid. What were they supposed to do? Hang out on different street corners and gun down any Whites happening by? You don't think Black people needed the Supreme Court during their Civil Rights battles? By the way, the name of the court is a title. I just refer to it in my writings so readers understand what federal court level I am referring to. So knock it off with your juvenile strawman and personal attacks. It is unbelievable how silly and immature you can be.

The J6 investigation is still on-going. I kept telling the berserk anti-Trumpers that it would be a miracle for Trump to be imprisoned. Not because he's innocent. I believe he's a traitor, he's guilty of insurrection and he's insulated himself from culpability and knowing what happens to those he cannot stand. Because of out-of-control race hatred, if he's returned to the Oval Office it's entirely possible that he could engineer a Global Holocaust with Blacks as the chief victims.

@Pioneer1 No studies need to be conducted because your premise is preposterous.

@Pioneer1 Find the quote where I called Marion Barry an evil man. Stop making chit up. Do you know what your problem is? You enjoy hurling childish accusations but don't understand a friggin' thing. It's all part of your unseemly ego where you think you're so intelligent, Black people need to bow down to your brilliance. The man was corrupt! He simply changed the people who benefited from that corruption. I prefer people who at least try to remain above board. Barry was a high profile Black politician, who like many folks in the public eye, suffered personal failings. At times, he was simply embarrassing when viewed through the prism of U.S. political history. Unlike Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Barry smoked crack. Just the kind of person parents will want to hold up as an example. The inside poop on Marion Barry

In the beginning, yeah. But he ended becoming a punch line on many comedy shows. That's how the world is. ProfD think this dead man should be lionized. I don't. I remember the dismay over Andrew Gillum when those hotel photos surfaced.

The claim from some that all the heat and explosions from countless wars have caused Global Warming ranks right up there with some all-time fanciful statements. Really? Multiple fiery explosions that last for mere seconds can combine to warm the entire atmosphere of our planet? I've never seen any proof. How about nuclear blasts? But there was no appreciable warming of the planet’s atmosphere following the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There have been about 500 atmospheric atomic tests and around 1,500 underground nuke tests since then, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. First, determine the yield of these nuke blasts. Then if they use fission or fusion: (https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/fission-and-fusion-what-difference) You’ll also have to determine if the blasts are underwater or over the seas and if they target urban, rural or military areas. One just can’t spout off and blurt out a quasi-scientific theory without proof or any basis for believability. You really want to know why the planet’s atmosphere is getting warmer? Check out this Website: The truth about Climate Change Now, if you don’t want to believe scientists, physicists and other learned folks, try tea lives or round yourselves up some witches. I love Sci-Fi, but I will never believe that honest-to-goodness aliens walk among us. If they exist, they may not even have or need legs. I also do not believe any object with mass can travel faster than the Speed of Light, as Einstein said. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jan/12/einstein-theory-of-relativity-speed-of-light

Well, Black people got a huge basket of good news on Thursday, June 8. Because the U.S. Supreme Court did not shatter what’s left of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Instead, by a 5-4 margin, a coalition of conservative and liberal justices reaffirmed the court's 1986 precedent interpreting how legislative districts must be drawn under the landmark voting rights act, as amended in 1982. After years of court defeats and being battered backwards by state after state when it comes to voting rights, the Supreme Court did something so surprising, even that dreaded oaf Clarence Thomas filed a 50-page complaint-objection. The court said that in Alabama, a state where there are seven House seats and one in four voters is black, the GOP-dominated state legislature had denied African American voters a reasonable chance to elect a second representative of their choice. The decision could affect other states, with reconsideration of how congressional lines are drawn in areas with significant Black voters. But unless these other state cases get before the high court and are actually heard before 2024, this ruling only benefits Black voters in Alabama. Supreme Court does a good thing for Black voters in Alabama

Years ago, Cornel West was so angry about the state of the African American economy that he lashed out in appalling fashion. But he forgot that this country’s first elected Black President, Barack Obama, was not responsible for Black people being blocked from owning bank accounts, land or running for office. This was all decided many, many decades BEFORE Obama moved into the White House. Those were national structural problems and they existed long before Obama came along. I doubt very much West can uproot them. Everyone knows and understands that Barack Obama was a Democrat. So, why did lamebrain Cornel West label him a “Rockefeller Republican in blackface?” I guess West had no frigging clue how belittling Blackface really is. Labeling Obama a Republican was supposed to do what for West? Make Obama seem like a turncoat? Cornel West didn’t just go after Obama. He also targeted after Rev. Al Sharpton, Melissa Harris-Perry and social activist Michael Eric Dyson for vitriol as well. His words of condemnation for many Obama backers were so nasty you would think he now wants to run to be Denigrator in Chief. Know what I think? In 2008, Cornel West, like Rev. Jesse Jackson, was insanely jealous of Obama’s reach into the White voting world. Cornel West’s ideas are sort of akin to those of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Both men have been frustrated for years. Both are old farts. Both never realized their dreams. However, Sanders never had to punch through a reputation display wall that makes him seem crazy and at times, out of control. West endorsed the Socialist candidate Sanders twice. But West has in the past, certainly acted out of control. According to West, Obama was a pimp of Black People. Really? Obama is to be blamed for tackling the 2007-08 financial crisis head-on and averting a worldwide depression? I was writing and editing a lot of financial/investment news stories during those days and had access to every newspaper and all financial newswires. Yeah, the U.S. economy nearly went off the rails back then. West could never solve anything with that anger of his. He’d spit and scream amid a conference room meeting with bankers and investment firms. The man is perennially pissed off. His main weapon is his rage. The fact that he is highly intelligent is overshadowed by his rhetoric. And I doubt that’s going to attract many on-the-fence voters who are already in turmoil because of racism, the rich getting richer (which no one can seem to stop) and threats of wars from Russia and China. I don’t know if many here realize one cannot impose new taxes without Congress. One can impose fees as a POTUS, but those won’t raise appreciable sums. But If West can get on the ballot in all 50 states – then let him run. That’s usually a difficult barrier to overcome for third party candidates anyway. According to West’s campaign Website, the former Yale, Princeton and Harvard professor wants to end all wars, disband NATO, forgive all student debt, expand Social Security and invest in clean energy. Also, free ice cream for everyone as well along with the aliens landing to greet West’s arrival at the White House. Does this 70-year old man really want to help whomever the GOP nominee is defeat Joe Biden the same way Ralph Nader helped George W. Bush defeat Al Gore in 2000? I guess so. If Joe Biden is supposed to be too old, then Cornel West is too angry to sit in the Oval Office. West will not win just as I predicted Sanders never would.

Dr. Cornel West is indeed brilliant. But I will never vote for him. I recall his incessant kneecapping of President Barack Obama as if this one Black U.S. Senator who ascended to the Oval Office could magically erase centuries of racism, discrimination and economic nonsense. In this latest extreme partisan and racist era, there is no way West or another third party candidate can win a national election.

I completely disagree with you on many points. What you authored is a whole lot of nothing. The world's scientists and physicists possess a great deal of knowledge of our planet and many of them have a keen understanding of what is wrong with our environment. You just want to be a humorous pundit. Dinosaurs have nothing to do with our situation. Still think I was wrong for pointing out the obvious? I was over 100 degrees on the island of Puerto Rico today. Large pat of the U.S. has been inundated with smoke from Canada's wildfires.

For those who believe the Bible, I would not be concerned about the longevity of the physical Earth. The Bible writer of Eccl. 1:4 intones that the planet Earth is here forever. But that is not what my thread is about. It was about a study from a group of scientists, collectively calling themselves the Earth Commission, who have concluded that the demands of humankind on our planet have pushed it beyond several safety factors for human life. I do not understand why so many claim our planet's environment is simply the same as it always has been. Because the world's environment has plainly deteriorated. https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ This may seem an issue that does not concern you. But the Earth is facing more frequent and severe storms, higher death rates, dirtier air, more wildlife species becoming extinct, higher sea levels and the oceans becoming much more acidic. The planet will always be here. But millions of people may lose their lives. Homeowners in flood-prone areas in the U.S. are facing huge price increases for flood insurance that could cause hundreds of thousands of people to cancel their policies and risk financial ruin if their home is flooded, according to Climate Wire. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the largest flood insurance program in the U.S., published projections showing that its premiums are on track to jump by thousands of dollars a year in some areas, Climate Wire said. And this is not even counting the premium increases or policy cancellations for homeowners in areas prone to wildfires or even sandstorms such Phoenix and other southwestern regions. Personally, I'm not too overly concerned. I don't live in a flood, wildfire or sandstorm zone. Aliens aren't coming to Earth. The Sun is not going to explode. And there's no Zombie Apocalypse on the immediate horizon. However, warming temperatures WILL continue leading to crop failures in countries whose populations can least escape the dire effects of them. Many of these nations are in Black Africa. THAT worries me - because it has already happened. But I'm pay more attention more to chances of a vessel or aircraft collision between U.S. navy ships and jets of China in the Taiwan Strait which would could easily lead to war. And that conflict could turn nuclear.

@ProfD Oh, you must be pissed off that I exist. I am on several discussion and news forums and boards. I am keenly interested on how others think or prove silly. What? Do you think your unproven analysis should go unchallenged? Foolish man. Pay no attention to me. Go back and raise scads of money for a golden statue of your crack addict Mayor whom you lionize so fervently.

Forget Green Comets, evil aliens and even raging White Supremacists. We're too busy destroying the Earth ourselves. According to a new study, Earth has pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safe limits for life. We are now heading into “the danger zone,” not just for an overheating planet that’s losing its natural areas, but for the well-being of human beings, according to a study published in the magazine Nature on May 31, 2023. There are several of these studies out on the Internet right now. The trick is finding an analysis of one that does not require a Ph.D in Science and Biology to read and understand. I’ll try this one: https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/planet-earths-limitations-at-stake-due-to-excessive-demands-of-human-beings/cid/1941677 But here's the link that seems to be the easiest read: We've passed seven out if eight safe limits

I kept telling folks that White Supremacy never went away. And I was appalled that some people who, up until that point, I respected, disagreed angrily. Many of you don't know much or aware of nuances to issues because you fail read news wires or the synopsis of national stories in local papers.

I don't panic. I do research. Did you read any of the the material from the links I provided? Of course not! Research is beyond you, Mr. All Blacks need to leave California because I'm still pissed off over a jay walking ticket I received many years ago. That proved California ain't chit, according to a post from you. I also do not see millions of Blacks shelving their Christian and Muslim beliefs and returning to the worship of African spirts because you think this is what is ailing Black America. Don't panic now because no one is listening to you.

@richardmurray Can YOU offer any credible proof that Crypto proved a viable investment tool for Black people? You never provide proof of anything, just baseless and ludicrous opinions. A few feature stories in the NY Times about White dudes are NOT proof that Crypto benefited Black people. Let's see some links to a credible news source discussing how Crypto proved a boon for Blacks. I remember your past nonsensical bullcrap: How you wanted me to help you write a post extolling the virtues of NYC Subway Terrorist Frank James. You admired James because as you told me, he made Black NYC Mayor Eric Adams look bad. And James was, according to your rancid thinking, striking a blow against homelessness. I have no idea how came up with that garbage. I replied James had been little but a crazed dumbf-ck for years who would be sentenced to a long prison term. And that's exactly what happened. You also swore that it would have been ideal for Blacks to create an all Black Political Party in the year 1865. Although in a subsequent message to me, you labeled it a Black Party of Governance. There is no Black Party of Governance and creating one in the U.S. in the year 1865 would have gotten so many Black men lynched. (Because remember, it took many decades before women were officially granted The Vote). For the most part, Blacks could not freely vote in the United States in 1865 and in fact, most Black Slaves in the South never had any inkling they had even been freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. When they found out, they created the beginnings of the Juneteeth Celebration. There would have been precious little benefit to creating an all Black political party back then. Your problem is that you rarely understand historical or even factual context.

A whole of people need to be sued for the Crypto fiasco. Shaq is not the only one. Crypto was touted as a get rich scheme in many circles, but especially in the Black Community. I knew it wasn't and simply cautioned its cheerleaders to be cautious. Rudy, Rudy demanded some booty So, how did his strategy go? It worked for a while as she spit back the bile But then she let everyone know

Unless one has actually lived in New York City and ridden its subways for years, you have no clue what can happen underground. People are terrified of altercations, especially in subway cars where one cannot walk into an adjoining car. From all news and witness reports, I agree that Jordan Neely did not pose a physical threat. But few subway riders enjoy a person who appears disheveled screaming. The randomness unnerves them. Most are trying to get to work or go to school. This is the reason subway terrorist Frank James engendered such notoriety. But he had been nutty for a long time and simply chose the NYC subway to pull his nonsense. There is nothing funny or admirable about an individual shouting incoherently in any subway. But I don't believe Neely should have been killed. And the amount of money donated to the man who cost him his life is further proof of what I have saying all along: White Supremacy never went away. Nothing, except massive government and private intervention, will curb homelessness in NYC and other big cities.

Republicans are holding the Debt Limit increase hostage. It has never been held up before, even under Trump. And according to several pundits, a financial default will devastate Black communities. https://news.yahoo.com/debt-ceiling-battle-could-affect-155223598.htmln https://newsone.com/4590811/debt-ceiling-crisis-black-america/ It's been warned repeatedly that a default could also destabilize world markets and lead to widespread recessions. https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177668000/default-debt-ceiling-limit-negotiations-recession-global-financial-crisis But I am concerned only with the aftermath a Default would have on Blacks. You may want to ask Mel Hopkins to weigh in on this. I believe she was an economics reporter for the TV station she worked at. Great writer. Or you can just read whatever oozes from the uninformed. The U.S. has never defaulted. But came close. The history of Debt Ceiling is here: https://time.com/6281003/debt-ceiling-history/ Personally, I believe Republicans will definitely try to pass another massive tax cut for the richest of Americans. I could never see myself voting for a member of a political party that has so many members who believe Black History is unworthy and deserving of dismissal. Because Black History in this country is U.S. History. Here is what White adults displayed for six-year old Ruby Bridges as she integrated an all-White school in Louisiana.

I am not a Slave. NBA Playoffs are not an example of Black culture. It’s a part of Black Entertainment or Black Escapism. Just like action movies are. If you want to believe this? Go right ahead. There was a dude who called himself Nels on here who swore committing crimes is part of Black Culture, too. And he even provided spurious FBI crime stats to prove it. I do not believe that Black people, men or women, are criminally minded. Nels and another guy named Greg do. I would rather stand with this man who writes OpEds for The Grio: https://thegrio.com/2023/05/26/jordan-neelys-death-reminds-us-of-the-lynching-atmosphere-that-still-exists-for-black-people/ I don't necessarily agree with everything he wrote. But there is little doubt White Supremacy has never gone away even though some on here claimed it no longer exists. I post opinions based on facts. When I was a News Reporter, I could never write stories without proving my contentions. So, I eventually created a huge source list. I just do not make chit up. I became so adept at my profession, I became a Senior News Editor. And then a Writing Teacher. But I still never made up stuff and if called upon to prove my position, I always had multiple sources to back me up. And that seems to piss off a lot people who cannot do the same.

@frankster Post links proving your points. All news forum posters elsewhere post links to prove their contentions. Neither are you in Sudan, nor do you have any inside information as part of the warring factions. So when you claim the two men were not friends, you need to prove it. Or you're just talking nonsense, which so many on this discussion group always do. Black Africans will not step in during the conflict in Sudan. They simply are unable to. Do you even understand the geography? Sudan and South Sudan are NORTH of the Sahara Desert. And no Black African nation possesses reliable airborne divisions to make the hop over that hot sand. That's the reason Black African nations sat on their haunches and never made any move to rescue Blacks being held as slaves in Libya soon after Moammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011. I remember all the nonsense about Nigeria and South Africa supposedly coming to the rescue of those enslaved Blacks at that time. It would have been a huge undertaking and a military coalition would have been needed. Naval ships would have had to have been docked offshore Libya to assist with the evacuation of slaves. Because no Black African nation can force march a mechanized military force through the Sahara. Look at a map! Black African nations did not do anything then and they will not do anything now. You are dreaming if you think otherwise. The reason why frontline African states endeavored to aid the African National Congress in its war of liberation against the Afrikaaners is because they did not have a huge natural obstacle to overcome. The Sahara Desert is not frigging joke. And friendship between the two generals does not mean they were sharing cocktails or going to clubs together. Black Americans are ignorant because they see everything through their eyes and only their experiences. Which is why we pay an inordinate amount of attention to celebrities and NBA playoff games. How quickly did many Blacks eat up the garbage about getting rich through Cryptocurrency? Burhan and Hemedti cooperated as they planned to divvy up the riches of Sudan, with each other and that was the extent of their friendship. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/5/16/sudan-to-break-the-cycle-of-violence-end-the-kleptocracy Depending upon where one derives their news, they were friends/rivals who were always suspicious of each other. But Hemedti was much worse than Burhan. You have no information and no one else on this discussion group has any either. They just make chit up and hope it flies. But they've been wrong so many times it's comical. But you notice they NEVER post any links? I do, which is proof that I have no fear of clowns. Here's proof the viciousness of Hemedti. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/20/sudan-outsider-hemedti-mohamed-hamdan-dagalo-leader-militia-army-war-conflict

@Chevdove The conflict in Sudan is not a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia. It is violent battle between two men who were once friends. However, both men fear the prospect of free elections in Sudan. Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan is the Sudanese army general who has ruled Sudan since Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in a series of revolutionary protests in 2019. In August of that year, Burhan became head of the Sovereign Council and de facto ruler of Sudan. The Council was comprised of civilian and military leaders that were supposed to oversee a transition towards elections, according to a news report from Al Jazeera. But Burhan, who dissolved Council just two years later, is now opposed by his deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Neither man wants free elections in Sudan. Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, was once an enforcer for Bashir, an Islamist and was considered a warlord. Burhan elicited help from Arab Gulf States to oust him and enjoyed good relations those nations. He even hosted Egypt’s president in Khartoum. The RDF are successors to the Janjaweed, the vicious bastards who massacred men and raped scores of women in Darfur. To help him take over Sudan, Dagalo also gets help from Gulf States and has turned to Russia’s Wagner Group who have been busily slaughtering Ukrainian civilians. But Warner Group also protects the ruler of the Central African Republic which supplies Russia with mined gold to pay for its invasion of Ukraine. Dagalo claims Wagner Group has departed Sudan. Sudan seems complicated. But it is not. It is simply a case of a vile Black man (Dagalo) who is perfectly willing to kill his own people for power, prestige and probably an expensive car or two. If you notice, a whole lot of White people have fled Sudan. Proof that Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan at least ran a stable state so well that foreigners had little problem working and living there. What’s going to happen? Who knows? But the U.S. will not become ostensibly involved in this civil war owing to lingering memories of what happened in Libya when Obama was President. And there is little the average Black man in the U.S. can do, despite all the fulminating by some loudmouths who never knew about Wagner Group until I mentioned them. The situation is a damn shame: https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cq23pdgvgm8t/sudan To get a good handle on Sudan, one will have to check several news Websites, policy groups and think tanks. Here's one: https://www.crisisgroup.org/

@Chevdove I don't wear a tin foil hat and I do not believe aliens live among us. The fastest an object with mass can travel is the Speed of Light, according to various astronomers and scientists. Those photos of distant galaxies we see all the time? They're billions of light years away, according to those same astronomers and scientists.