Mel Hopkins

Thanks for the tag. I read through your essay, and while I don’t agree with a lot of the conclusions, I do think you’re raising an interesting point about the difference between what officials want to do versus what they’re actually allowed to do. The part of your argument that does land for me is the structural piece: — The mayor can’t set private-market prices, — but can shape how NYC agencies function, including the NYPD. That’s a fundamental distinction and a solid place to build from. Your part about packaging sizes and affordability is also an interesting angle. It reminds me of "five-cent loosies" from back in the day. That’s something you could actually dig into with data, separate from the political side. For me, I try to stick to the parts of an argument where there’s a clear legal or economic grounding — it keeps the conversation from going in circles. Appreciate you sharing your thoughts. It will be interesting to see how Mayor Mamdani differs from the mayoral candidate Mamdani.

I stumbled on this one and "mind blown." The featured man is a Nigerian from the Yoruba Clan, but grew up in Russia.

Agree! I think this is why you, I, and the rest of the AALBC fam meet up here. We freaking READ! We read our history and study our lessons! We don't let anyone feed us what they want us to know. You can't be sold on anything when you Know Thyself! But without that knowledge, somebody can sell folks an Easy button.

If the NYC mayoral race were a novel, I'd deconstruct its architecture. From one election to the next, the narrative appears to shift away from focused policy debates, instead centering on the influence of religious groups. The major religious factions—Christian nationalists, Muslims, and Jews—each appear to compete for cultural and political dominance within the city. Amid this religious competition, the African diaspora in the U.S.—a powerful and often underestimated voting bloc—continues to be overlooked and taken for granted by both the candidates and the dominant religious groups. It sometimes seems as though these competing religious groups neglect the African diaspora’s influence. Ironically, the roots of these religions trace back to African science-based spirituality, yet this connection receives little attention in political or religious discourse. This dynamic played out in Election 2024: Christian nationalists—including evangelists, southern Baptists, and likely Catholics—rallied strongly behind DJT. Media and external influencers shifted the conversation away from local policy and toward polarizing international issues, like the U.S. stance on Israel and Palestine, further affecting how voters chose among domestic candidates. When reviewing 2025 election results, I noticed Mamdani was not the only Muslim elected, which raises the question of whether heightened coverage of Gaza led to greater sympathy and increased Muslim representation—a trend potentially extending into the midterms. Don’t misunderstand—I bear a grudge against all religions. Religious study should bring wisdom, spirituality, and growth, yet it often has the opposite effect. Religions lead to violence instead of joy and peace. Add patriarchy, and it’s chaos. Returning to the story's structure: Is this a narrative of democratic socialism rising in the heart of Wall Street? Consider Manhattan—the FINANCIAL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD—and its boroughs. Is the city that never sleeps really ready to move from capitalism to social ownership? Notably, NYC is the largest property owner according to Curbed.com, and the mayor administers these assets. Perhaps social ownership is the underlying story arc behind recent shifts. So, in this story—call it Project 2025 (S)—the central figure is a young millennial poised to challenge the reigning power and reclaim Manhattan for the people. Behind the scenes, religious struggle, human trafficking disguised as immigration reform, and pervasive surveillance set the chaotic stage for change in the city. Meet the Muslim and Arab Americans who won in US local elections Jews vote for Andrew Cuomo over Zohran Mamdani in NYC mayoral race | The Jerusalem Post "In addition to the Jewish vote, Mamdani lost the Catholic vote by a significant margin: 53% supported Cuomo and 14% backed Sliwa, against 33% for Mamdani. A decisive 75% of voters with no religious affiliation supported Mamdani." Here's a past look at Manhattan when DJT began buying up NY property in the early 70s(?) a look back at Palestinians, Israel, Libya, etc.

Powerful observation, Brotha ProfD! Many women in the industry feel the same way - but again, look who runs the industry. I wonder how the music industry would look if people from the African diaspora were at the top?

I love this performance. Maxwell was supposed to battle D'Angelo in Verzus, but he didn't show up. D'Angelo went on and did that damn thing anyway. Then H.E.R. showed up to do this duet - and it was heaven. Thank you, D'Angelo, for sharing your beautiful talent! May beautiful music follow you as you continue your journey. D’Angelo, Grammy-winning R&B singer, dies at 51 | AP News

This "podcast" is really good. I feel like this is next-level promotional collateral for authors to promote their books!

The first chapter identifies Paschal as Black, even though the author, D. Amari Jackson, chose not to explicitly identify him by ethnicity. (He did) But the message is clear because Law enforcement authorities put no effort into investigating his manner of death. After all, to them, what is another dead Black man to the establishment, right? To Americans from the African diaspora, however, it means buried history. In this historical fiction account, we immediately meet a character who is willing to share the backstory with us, but I suspect he, too, will be an unreliable narrator. But that's America. But I digress. Still, I thought that was a powerful statement to set the tone. I do wish, however, that Amari had developed the mystery further in the first chapter. Not for the reader's sake but mine. I've launched and published two editorial reviews so far, titled "The First Chapter," in which I discuss how great I think the book will be based on its first chapter. I think I have enough material to work with in the first chapter of "Mirroring Lincoln", but I will have to mine it carefully enough to get the reader excited about taking the journey. Oh, I preordered the Kindle version. @Troy Will you release an audio version?

OMG Troy, Yes! They would have a blast together! Seriously, fireworks, laughter, and partying! Thank you!

I could have sworn we chatted about DEC, but maybe you mentioned Wang Labs when I mentioned DEC. My bad. I won't forget again.

O/T. Twin, this method seems to mirror the pattern of your career journey right after you obtain your degrees (maybe even before). Am I correct? I still giggle that we both worked at DEC, but in different capacities. The reason I ask is that I recently mapped out my Modus operandi, and it aligns with my life map.

You misunderstood me. I know it's inappropriate for others to ask personal information. BUT It happens to me so often that I just answer the question to set the record straight. This way, I feel that no one can claim I've misled them, or they can claim ignorance. But I agree with @aka Contrarian . I'll wait for someone to share their information with me. If they choose not to share, it is their right. I won't ask. For example, we've engaged in conversation on this board for the past 15 years, but have I ever asked you to share a photo, describe yourself, tell me where you live, what you do for a living, if you're poor, wealthy, married, single, white, Latino, First Nation, or Black? Nope, because I respect your position to remain anonymous. Hell, I don't even know your name! Stiil, I answered you because of who you are and how you present yourself. By the way, my ex and I used to wear a lot of plaid shirts for a while . His hair is now gray, but he's a straight, Nordic-type, blonde-haired, blue-eyed man, standing at 6 feet 2 inches.

That's the same thing that happened to me. The information comes from your DNA! You know what you know! I believe with all my heart that we have all the information, but we're afraid to know how we know, so we dismiss it. But try this -(don't believe everything you think. just let the thoughts flow.) For example, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how my grandpups understood what I was saying. Or any other non-human species for that matter, but today, I watched my grandpup Scott nose wiggle while I was speaking to him -- and do you know that little furbaby sniffs to understand my message? He can smell me, tell what I mean, and actually acts on it. So, there is intelligence in "knowing." through all our senses! Most of the time, I feel the message or I put my finger on the answer. I'm not special! We can all do this! Trust what you're feeling and be fluid with iit. The last part means to let the information flow in and out - don't be wedded to it. Just use it as you would when reporting a story. Don't fear correcting yourself later - information is fluid. The more open you are open to letting the information flow, the more the answers you need will come, and as they come, you can build on them and build your knowledge in any discipline.

If I remember correctly, it had to do with how they repeatedly attempted to get the results. For example, if you try to measure my foot at the end of the day - it is always going to be bigger than in the morning. Once I come across the claim I'll follow up wiht a post.