Troy

In places like NYC and DC, this marching is "a thing" as they say. In places like Tampa, which is part of Hillsborough County (who voted for Hillary), and not exactly the sticks; you don't hear any talk about marching. This is more big city folks from the coasts talking to each other. Maybe holding some demonstrations in the rust belt and other places where Trump had the most influence might be more impactful. It is the same reason the press completely missed Trump's reach, they interact and reported in the very same bubble the marchers are in. The really very crazy thing is that I don't think writing to politicians will have an impact either. They are part the problem. In fact, Trump who ridiculed Hillary as being owned by Goldman has now made these very some people part of his cabinet. I don't hear any Trump supporters complaining about this. I'm not convinced they even understand what this means... You can't complain about the rich when the government is a plutocracy. All you can really do is, do the best you can. You could also fight for radical change, but not enough people have the stomach for it. Youngsters who normally drive this sort of radical change are too distracted by social media; as if griping about Trump's tweets will make a difference. Kinda make what the Panthers, SNCC, SCLC and other organizations did so much more impressive. These organization despite the charismatic Brothers we hear most about, were really were run by women.

The Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival is an annual, cultural arts & music festival that takes place over the course of 10 days in Tampa Bay, Florida. They host an Author Village which I checked out on Saturday and met a bunch of authors. I was only armed with an old cell phone, but I managed to shoot a couple of videos and a bunch of photos.

OK let me know where you find the answer.

Two out of three is not bad :-)

Hey Del would you define magic? For example, would waving a wand over someone who died 100 years ago and resurrecting them be considered magic? How about extracting DNA from a dead person and cloning them, would that be considered magic? Something that was considered magic 100 years ago is simply science today. Perhaps the same could be considered for whatever you consider magic today. I'd define magic as an occurrence which can not be explained scientifically. So I believe in magic. What we perceive as magic is often the result of an over active imagination or tricks and quirks in human perception.

Del I meant to write I did "not" run the numbers (I corrected what I originally wrote). Unifying and divisive are antonyms, so it is not clear what you mean using these terms to describe the president.

After a 2.5 day outage, The website is back up! I've moved the site to a new server, and I can already see that the discussion forum is faster. Let me know if you see any other problems. While the site has been up for several hours, I only gained access a few minutes ago (information relating to the new location of AALBC.com does not reach all corners of the world wide web at the same time), and I have quite a few things to check out before I call it a day.

AALBC.com is experiencing database server problems. As a result, large sections of the website are unavailable (it's always something). All advertisers will have their campaigns extended for twice the duration of the outage I tell you dealing hackers, trolls, and corporate domination of the web. Running an indie website can be a real drag sometimes... I was outgrowing my current web host a needed to move anyway, this might be a good time to do it. Keep me in your prayers.

I don't disagree. That line, "Perhaps the American public is more afraid of sexual advances from Hillary than Trump." was rich LOL. BTW, the number of women was not a sample; it was the entire electorate dude. Honestly, I did not run the numbers. But we do know the majority of white women voted for Trump. If we eliminated all the votes cast by white women, it is possible that difference could have swung the election the other way. It would not take too much heavy lifting to figure that out if that is indeed the case.

I think you are looking at it from the wrong angle Del, it will have zero impact on Trump. It will, however, help galvanize people in such a way that they thwart anything bad Trump might do and prevent this shit from happening again.

Last night after, writing the post above, I began running a new poll. To ask the question Where did you buy your last book. Of course, the software available to collect this information is far superior to what I used back in 1999. I was able to find and implement a new poll in a matter of minutes. The company I used is called Get Site Control. I never heard of them prior to looking for poll taking tool software. Get Site Control also provide a variety of other widgets for your site or Blog. Creating a feature rich website is much easier than ever before, but we have much less diversity on the web because massive corporate sites dominate. It really is a great loss of creativity, but I digress... Here are the results of the Where did you buy you last book? question thus far: Of course, given Amazon's dominance, I don't expect any relations with this question. The main purpose is to contrast the responses with those given 17 years ago. I also recognize that since this question is posted on this website, that there are inherent biases, so I would not extend these answers to the general population. But given the fact that internet penetration is so much higher today compared to Jan 2000 when the question was first asked. The survey is probably less biased than the one taken 16 years ago. Finally, it will be interesting to see if I get 856 responses and how long it takes.

NY Dems plan on Boycotting Trump's Inauguration. @Delano, you may want to follow this story to understand the thinking about what a boycott can do.

These questions were posed before the advent of social media and during what I'd describe as the height of the "Black Literature Renaissance" in 2000. Check out all the questions and answers: https://aalbc.com/fun/survey.htm The really interesting thing is that even though this site gets orders of magnitude more traffic in 2017, than in 2000, I doubt I could get as many people to respond to surveys like this. Part of the reason AALBC attracts more visitors is that there are FAR more people with Internet access than there were 17 years ago. But they reason I suspect I'd get less participation is that visitors are generally far more engaged on social media and the large corporate sites than they are on smaller indie sites. This is one of the reasons there is less choice and diversity on the web than there was 17 years ago, but that is a rant for another day I plan to ask visitors many of the same questions I asked back in 1999, I'll really anxious to see what people think today compared to almost two decades ago.

Image was always important to Obama. I'm sure this is why he avoided the Black press, ditched Dr. West and Tavis Smiley from jump street all of whom all would have been held more accountable for his actions regarding Black people. Instead, he latched on to sycophants like Al Sharpton. This is not an issue of "messaging" as Obama likes to claim, this is an issue of the struggles of Americans. Perhaps the democrats can find a truly progressive candidate to run against Trump in four years and truly make America great.

I actually did look at that. I was interested in seeing if there were some really large contributions too. Basically, the largest contribution (when I looked) was $5,000, there are about 25 others who gave $1,000 or more. Making up about 25% of the total. The vast majority of other contributions were relatively small over 6,300 contributions averaging about 50 bucks each. An impressive large level of grassroots support. That segment of the Black community @Cynique, is apparently not so silent. While I refuse to begrudge Talladega for cashing in here; I don't like the idea of an HBCU celebrating the inauguration of Donald Trump, but I'm not paying the schools bills... I read the Jennifer Holiday saw the light and backed out. Perhaps she felt the long-term financial impact of alienating the gay community exceeded the short term gain of performing at Trump's Inauguration. Apparently, the Black community does not exert the same power as the Gay community. Instead we are willing to do anything for money, not unlike of future president.

I still have not heard the President's farewell speech, but I have heard clips and I watched an Interview on TV last night. In each instance, I've heard Obama state that the country is better off as a result of his presidency. In fact, in the interview I watched last night, Obama said this was "objectively" true in any way you want to measure it. As an entrepreneur; educator; and someone who has been involved in a wide variety of industries including, defense, financial services, publishing, and technology the notion that the country is better off now, than it was 8 years ago, does not ring true. While it is true, based upon the data I have access to, that the Nation's GDP has increased, during this same period of "growth," income has remained stagnant and wealth inequality as increased. If we measure the success of the economy based upon the increase in wealth of the extremely wealthy, then Obama is right. However. if we look at the prospects of most Americans, the picture is bleaker. I see education costing more and more, so much more that a decent one is out of reach of many—especially for those you can't, or refuse, to take on oppressive debt. At the same time, the prospects of a decent, well-paying job, as a result of this expensive education is no longer guaranteed. I see opportunities for running independent businesses, swiftly evaporating as super massive and ultra wealthy corporations are allowed to operate as virtual monopolies, utilizing the capital markets, tax loopholes, and politicians in a way that would be considered criminal is an individual engaged in this behavior. We have witnessed the death of journalism; and the rise of fake and biased news spewed by people armed with misinformation and biased opinions on platforms whose sole motivation is revenue. Trump's dysfunction became much more newsworthy than the coverage of legitimate candidates. If the country is doing better, why have the American people decided to radically change direction and go with Donald Trump? I submit for the very same reasons we chose Obama over Clinton in the primaries and again over Romney in the general. We were full of "hope" for a "change." Of course, wealth inequality did not start with Obama, but not only did he not reverse it, it grew under his watch and people are feeling the pain. Bernie Saunders spoke directly to this pain, while Obama attempted to convince us everything was going great. This is why Bernie's message resonated so strongly with many people, while Hillary just promised more of what Obama delivered--the rich getting richer. When Hillary modified her message to be more Saunder's like, she came across as a typical poll-monitoring politician, more commonly known as a liar, the chants of "lock her up" made perfect sense to many. Now that Trump is practically in office, the media will continue to cover his silly tweets and fail to directly challenge his lies. Our country is broken. God help us.

I see Talladega desperately wanted to participate in Trump's inauguration festivities. They did even have the money to do it and have resorted to setting up a Go Fund Me campaign with the goal of raising $75,000. At the moment I'm writing this they have raised $354,251! Clearly, they have a lot support despite the negative reactions from some. Well, there's the upside: Talladega has cleared over $354K, and counting. A nice sum for a day's work. The beauty for the Trump people is that they didn't even have to spend a penny.

Yeah, I saw this too. I also saw the negativity leveled against Harvey in reaction. Even DL Hughley lashed out. Listening to Hughley take on Trump using Jim, Kanye, and Harvey is interesting. Again, as discussed, Jim Brown is a serious activist, Steve Harvey will do anything to advance his career, and Kanye West is likely in need of treatment. As a result, I would not lump these three men together. While it is obvious Trump is trying to use these guys and understands that celebrity is a really easy way to impress the Black masses. I'm not worried about Jim Brown getting played and selling us out. I can't say the same for the other Brothers, but who knows...

I pulled the stat from a NY Times article from a few weeks back. I did not see anything that really explained this, just a recognition that a LOT more work needs to be done if women are ever going to achieve full parity wth men, and how the work of Susan B. Anthony is being undone. Barack is arguably the smartest man to have served as president. His personal life is essentially flawless and scandal free. His education and academic record are impeccable. He is a relatively handsome, physically fit, family man. His wife is brilliant in her own right. We can debate whether Obama's political experience was adequate, but he was a state senator. This stands in STARK contrast to Donald Trump. Black folks aways knew we have to be twice as good to get half as much in America. It is interesting double standard play out for white women. In fact, one could argue Hillary was a superior candidate in 2016 than Obama was in 2008. Sure Hillary had a lot of baggage that Obama never had time to accumulate, but Trump has loads of baggage, much more than Hillary, but the media made it seem as if it Trump's baggage was equivalent to Hillary's while completely ignoring the vastly superior level of experience Hillary holds over Trump. We often talk about Black folks being like crabs in a barrel, but white women are even worse. Many Black people came out to vote for Obama simply because he was Black--I was one of those voters. White women simply would not, come out in mass, and support a woman simply because she was a woman. I mean it is not like we are talking about a Sarah Palin... One could argue that white women were operating on a higher principle--ignoring gender and simply voting for the best candidate. But that defies logic given the fact Trump was the opposing candidate they selected over Hillary. The really crazy thing is that all the Black women voted for Hillary (well 94% of them did). I think the reason has more to do with the democratic party's lock on the Black voter than Black women allegiance to other women. The republicans could have put Angela Davis on the ticket and Black women would have still voted democratic.

Get Published and Not Exploited by Kalamu ya Salaam. This was another excellent article I published over 15 years ago and is even more true today than when I first published it. Corporations and taken advantage for writers to their while smaller, Black-owned properties have suffered. The net result is that the Black community reader and writer is not served nearly as well as when the article was first published.

The "cattiness" is something I always heard applied to Black women. It is interesting to consider it in this context. Given the number of unfaithful men, I can't image women, collectively, holding this against Hillary. True, Hillary squashed Bernie, but I can't image anyone who supported Bernie actually casting a vote for Trump. Are there still women left who follow their husbands to the extent that they would vote for Trump because their husbands told them to? Obviously, these men would be Trumper supporters and obviously, they are evangelicals and wife abusers Maybe what we are witnessing is a backlash. Women who want things the way they used to be, before they had to go out and work a crappy job to support an existence marginally above subsistence. 53% percent of white women voted for the Donald. While I previously played down the role of racism in this election I can't help but see as a major factor driving the white female vote. White women were probably attracted to Trump because he "said" he was going to; get rid of the Mexicans and build a wall to keep any more from coming in; and be tough on the Mooslims. We already know how he feels about the Blacks. Protection from these people is more important than seeing another woman in the Whitehouse, besides they did their part tolerating 8 years of Obama right? Make America Great Again!

Well, as usual, you Cynique you reveal a depth that I can only hope to achieve. Perhaps a willingness on my part to look a little deeper, I can find more amusement in these things. I'm sure Steve's appeal has to do with his work ethic and playing to the lowest common demoniator like Wendy Williams or Tyler Perry.

If forgot one to mention one of thing that has completely blown my mind. The majority of white women voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton! Somebody, please explain to me how in the hell THAT could possibly happen. I know I put a lot of blame of the negative impact of social media including killing journalism, but there has to be more to it. And while I did not listen to Streep's rant, I'm sure offered no explanation. I wonder what Susan B. Anthony would think about how white women has used their right to vote. If white women were not allowed to vote it is possible Hillary would have won the election.

Can you identify all the writers? Click this link for the answers: https://aalbc.com/fun/who'sthe.htm This collage was used on AALBC.com’s first homepage in 1997. I'm finding all types of things as I plow through migrating all of the website's content to the new format. When I started the website upgrade, in late 2016 I thought I would be finished in the spring of 2016. It will be a great feat if I get it done by the spring of this year But in reality I've done a LOT more than I originally planned so it is all good.

In another conversation Cynique wrote, “…my sense of humor is what sustains me. I regularly watch Family Feud hosted by Steve Harvey, just to laugh at how stupid the average person can be.” What struck me about Cynique's statement is that she is roughly 30 years my senior and I can't see myself being amused by Family Feud--ever. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder what will amuse and interest me if I'm fortunate enough to have Cyniques longevity. I used to watch Family Feud and I even derived some enjoyment from it, but this was many years ago. Lately however, I when catch it channel surfing, it feels like I'm wasting time watching the show. I don't find humor in it anymore. It just seems stupid, like so much of the other stuff that is on broadcast TV. I guess that it why TV was known as the "boob tube." Now I'm not one of those folks who go around boasting that, "I don't even own a T.V." I see nothing wrong with owning a TV, but I find much of the programming a waste of time, so I can understand why people don't bother with them. It has been suggested that I just turn off my brain, at least the analytical part of it, and relax to enjoy this stuff. But that is not in my nature. Besides the analytical part is what makes things interesting for me. But it goes beyond Family Feud; I don't enjoy many most movies I watch in the theaters. I used to love Star Trek and Star Wars, but the last two installments of Star Wars was just boring to me. I mean how many times can one watch space ships fighting each other. It seems like I've seen all of these movies before. In fact, the same goes for all of those franchise films, after the first one they are all repeats from Harry Potter to the Avengers. I'll probably stop seeing these films in the theater. I will, however, make a point of seeing Hidden Figures, Fences, and Midnight. I recently saw Birth of Nation {yawn}. Hopefully one of these films will restore my hope that I can continue to enjoy a good movie as I get older. Despite the awards and critical praise of Midnight I'm definitely managing my expectations ;-)