Independent Texan Male – Page 5

LeBron James & Politics… Marginalized Groups Should Take Note

“Marginalized groups in America should employ the LeBron James Free Agency Model. The model being, never be predictable, make all moves in accordance with what you want, and have said moves impact the course of others.”

It’s very fitting that Superstar LeBron James has made the Los Angeles Lakers his possible career-ending landing spot. The Lakers are the most storied franchise in professional basketball, and Los Angeles is easily the most glamorized city in America. LeBron, since high school, has been the most covered sports star in America, if not the world. Only Tiger Woods could cough in the room to express a disagreement. With that being said, the NBA free agency frenzy that is “What will LeBron do,” has received more coverage than even the NFL offseason and all of their off the field issues. (Follow up article on the NBA going head to head with the NFL is for a future date.)

It got me to thinking about how LeBron has made his decisions regarding his career, and how those seeking political power should take notice. I’ll explain.

LeBron has independently orchestrated all his unpredictable career moves to the beat of his Akron, Ohio drum. His moves have been calculated and unorthodox, those same moves caused other teams and players to change their course of action. Case and point, in an effort to make the Cleveland Cavaliers younger and possibly retain Lebron’s talent and keep it in Ohio for good, the Cavs front office made an unorthodox move themselves by trading away their future to a team (LA Lakers) in which LeBron could be headed to. And whata ya know, LeBron is headed to LA, a move possibly not open without that trade during the regular season.

For the first time in the history of sports, one player in a sense, their sole actions impact every other team and every other player in their respective league. Power!

How does that work politically?

When a small social group is in a plight to be equal with a larger social group, the worst thing said group should do is become predictable. Their second worse move should be one of isolation. Instead, their moves should be unpredictable and felt by others. Think lawsuits for coffee being too hot and now all coffee cups cautioning you a hot beverage is actually hot.

Politically speaking, certain groups have become as predictable as they’ve become marginalized, and their actions have become isolated. For example, Black Americans are exclusively Democrat voters, even if not registered with the party. Though such a political force has force, it doesn’t have power. There’s a difference.

True power is leverage, leverage to be used to get what you want and how you want it.

LeBron James used his skill set as leverage to not only land a big paycheck, $154 million to be exact, but he also used his leverage to arrange the best situation at that time for him and his family. Why stay in Cleveland and lose, when you can go to Miami and win with friends? Certain social-political groups should question why they’re so vested and beholden to a party or platform that does not ensure what they want, let alone basic liberties.

Black Americans have dangerously hindered their own progress on key issues partly due to committing to only one political party. This has double ramifications. 1) The other party has completely shut them out because they know they’re never going to support them. And 2) the so-called party who’s supposed to have their back has to only do so much, why? Because they’ve have them under contract and they know they’re never hitting free agency for a better deal.

A double dribble if you will… a conundrum for Black Americans and other marginalized groups? Maybe.

I’m not suggesting all Black American’s flock to the Republican Party. But like LeBron, be unpredictable. If they left the Democratic Party like LeBron left Cleveland, if or when they came back, who knows, they just might make history and win a championship.

Your perspective is important… let us know what you think?

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Jeff Sessions And The Religious Right Are Ruining Christianity

Christians need to shame those who use their faith to justify actions and policies that are anything but Christ-like.

Remember the movie “Saving Private Ryan?” For those who haven’t seen it, not sure if that person even exists, but if you haven’t seen it here’s the gist. Captain Miller, played by Tom Hanks, and his platoon are assigned to find a soldier whose three other brothers have died in combat before he possibly faces the same fate.

The soldier, Private Ryan, is just another soldier; however, Army leadership found it purposeful to save the Ryan household another loss to their family, thus the mission to find Private Ryan and bring him home.

During the mission, several of Captain Miller’s troops, including Captain Miller, die attempting to save Private Ryan; yet the mission of rescuing Private Ryan is fulfilled and he safely returns home.

The movie came to mind when I saw yet another ridiculous religious reference by a political official. This time it was Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Side note, speaking of Hollywood movies, if there was ever the perfect man who had both the look and voice of the Jim Crow segregationist, it would be Jeff Sessions.

Sessions stated the Bible justified immigration enforcement to purposely separate families in the effort of enforcement because “it’s the law of the land.” Which is true. The law of the land includes immigration protocols. The Bible does state to obey the law of the land. But… is that the Christian way? To intentionally separate families for violation of a nonviolent crime? Would he use the good Christian book if the immigration issue was focused against… say… Polish immigrants versus immigrants from Mexico and Latin America?

However, Sessions isn’t the real problem. It’s his fellow Christian worshipers who stay silent when the “Christian Right” continually use the Christian faith as a launching pad for their political policies.

To the non-affiliated type, the “Christian Right” has become nothing but a harbinger for bigotry, xenophobia, and homophobic views and policies. This type of practice has gone on for too long and now more than ever Christians need to go on a mission and save their faith.

The “Christian Right” has become so ridiculous that white evangelicals voted to the tune of 95 percent for Trump. Trump: a lifelong party going, illicit drug using, several wives having, amongst other things self, was voted for based on religious beliefs. Huh????

So what gives?

Simply put, the “Christian Right” use religion as makeup to cover their true bigotry filled desires. And only rightfully minded Christians have the makeup removing kits to wipe it away. Yes, I know most of the “Christian Right” are southern White people, but it doesn’t matter. If you practice the Christian faith, what’s supposed to supersede any demographic box is wanting to be Christ-like. Therefore, that includes ensuring your faith is not being misused.

Lastly, in “Saving Private Ryan,” Captain Miller calmed his troops questioning the purpose of their mission for the expense of their own possible death; for he stated if bringing Ryan home is a way to get them all home, then so be it. Other Christians not on board with the hypocrisy of the “Christian Right” might fear backlash or know they too have their own faults. However, justifying these actions by stating it’s the “biblical thing to do” creates a mark on the Christian faith that’s becoming harder and harder to erase.

After listening to such justification and watching it play out, refusing to speak up is even worse.

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What’s The Difference? LeBron and the Hypocrisy of Politics

Back in the day, I’m talking way before hashtags, Dr. Dre dropped his classic 2001 Chronic album. One of the lead singles was “What’s the difference,” a song in which Dr. Dre questioned why he had been the target of so much criticism for doing the same things other rappers had done in their careers. The song reminds me of the criticism of LeBron James, a criticism he receives that’s simply not exclusive to him as a player.

Despite very few flaws in his game, LeBron SHOULD get criticized for his blah career free throw percentage (upper 70s) and the fact that he averaged 4 turnovers a game this season, which is 2x more than his buddy Chris Paul.

But that’s not the criticism. Instead, most of the criticism and negative talking points about him have nothing to do with his actual game on the court. Two of them come to mind…

Taking his talents to South Beach and creating a “super team.”

So what. I’ve been to Cleveland several times, and I’ve been Miami several times as well… it’s a no-brainer. But that’s not the main gripe, it’s this myth that he “created” a super team and he was the first to do it.

Yes, LeBron, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade were the first stars to construct the nucleus of a team; however, General Managers have been building teams with multiple stars for years. No team has ever won a championship without multiple all-star caliber players.

Let’s look at a few… Bird doesn’t win without Parish and McHale. Thomas doesn’t win without the Bad Boys. Jordan doesn’t win without Harper, Rodman, and Pippen.

And the second critique… Lebron’s not a “killer.”

A very subjective measurement of a player, and one that LeBron apparently doesn’t have. Lebron lacking the “Jordan” or “Kobe” killer mentality comes from his deferment to pass in situations rather than take a contested shot because he’s the best player. And the best player does whatever it takes to win.

Despite being the only player to average a triple-double in the NBA finals, leading multiple statistical categories on both finals teams for the past four years, and three NBA finals MVPs… he’s not a killer?

I don’t get it. I’m obviously a LeBron fan. But I just don’t understand the furious hate LeBron receives when other notable players seem to escape the same level of disdain.

I said all that to say this…

Considering serious social and political issues in our country, the uncanny criticism of LeBron is akin to the hypocrisy of American politics. Perfect example, Roseanne Barr was recently fired from her show for a series of racially motivated comments. The right has gone crazy suggesting a violation of free speech – the same free speech that NFL players exercised by silently kneeling during the National Anthem that they said was disrespectful to the flag and military, therefore justifying Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reed not having a job.

Perceptions and opinions have dangerously turned into facts. If having discussions and problem-solving were hard before, then they’ll likely be much tougher moving forward… tougher than Lebron and the Cavaliers playing the Golden State Warriors in this year’s NBA Finals. Just don’t say that in front of Kobe and Michael Jordan fans, because they simply won’t see the difference.

Point out the hypocrisy… it’s staring us in the face everyday.

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Anthem Penalties? They Are Who We Thought They Were

Don’t let em off the hook.

We’ve all seen it and laughed each time we watched it. I’m referring to the classic line, “The Bears are what we thought they were, and we let them off the hook!”, press conference rant by the late great NFL head coach Dennis Green. To recap, Coach Green was referencing his Arizona Cardinals blowing a 4th quarter lead vs the top team in their conference, and eventual Super Bowl-bound Chicago Bears. Chicago was down 20 and made a great comeback to win the game, one of the greatest in the regular season.

Keeping with the NFL theme, this week the 32 NFL owners and commissioner Rodger Goodell have concluded players must stand for the playing of the national anthem or face punishment.

The particulars of how the rule should be implemented and the corresponding penalties haven’t been mapped out just yet. And though owners and commissioner haven’t consulted the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) with this ruling, they did state if players did not want to stand they could wait in the locker room. See, that was nice of them.

And this is where the Dennis Green reference comes into play. The NFL owners are who we thought they were. Yeah yeah I know some owners have come out and stated they would pay the fines of their players. Some owners have expressed they believe in the players’ right to protest, and others are somewhere in between, reluctant to order players to stand but concerned about the bottom line… money.

These expressions come from a collective of owners whose average age is 70, that’s the average… 70. They make Congress look like Freshman orientation. They’re ALL billionaires and ALL except Shahid Khan are White. In other words, they literally have nothing in common with their employees, the players. And they don’t care to have anything in common. As Dennis Green said, “we let them off the hook” and the NFLPA is on the verge of doing so if they let the owners get away with enacting such a draconian rule without their consent and input.

The NFLPA must not allow the narrative to be spun around as if the players have presented a problem with kneeling during the anthem to protest injustices against Black people in America. They must not allow the virtually lost point of the protests, that they have NOTHING to do with the American flag or anthem directly. It has everything to do what the protests were about. If the protests were for cancer, the storyline would have lasted a week and nothing else would have been said about it.

The owners are exactly who we think they are. They’re a bunch of super rich old men who have allowed the national anthem protests to empower and transform the role and importance of players, specifically Black players. They want that power back, not to mention they completely disagree with why the protests started in the first place. The NFLPA once had a lead with the protests and now the owners are staging a comeback. Don’t allow the owners to come back and snatch victory away in the fourth quarter. The stakes are too high.

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The Best Part of Waking Up

In response to Can Someone Be Pro-Black and Date Someone Who is Not Black?

How can someone who is on the forefront of fighting racial injustices in America choose to date a white person?

Back in the day, the Folgers Coffee Company became popular due to a very catchy commercial jingle. The famous “the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup” jingle became synonymous with having a cup of morning joe. If younger readership is wondering what I’m talking about, Starbucks effectively took over the morning coffee fix with no jingle, but that’s another article entirely.

I brought up the Folgers jingle to reference the newest racially oriented hot topic, which is “can someone who is woke date a white person.” Specifically, white, the emphasis on white because white people in this country have done the lion share of oppressive acts against nonwhite people – in other words, history. Knowing this factoid, some wonder if a black person can call themselves “woke” and still wake up to a white lover (by now you should get the Folgers reference).

This all comes off the heels of Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino’s This is America video which in an artistic and cerebral way displays the many racial problems throughout American history that still persist today. Many people gave huge nods to the video’s representation of racial issues; however, some walked away questioning the authenticity of Glover’s passion for the cause considering he dates a white woman.

On the onset – the notion that a “woke” black person, meaning someone who is not only aware but also actively engages in the fight against racial disparities, chooses to date a white person can be dismissive. I understand it; however, I just don’t agree. It’s easy for us in America to view everything through a racial lens, and rightfully so, given our history of racism and discrimination. And for that reason, I understand those questioning Glover’s authenticity; but I don’t agree, because in my opinion there’s simply no way with true validity to judge another persons passion to fight racial disparities based on who they decide to love. Impossible.

No two people would be together if they allowed the outside world to give their two cents on their relationship. I also understand “this is America,” pun intended, and everything can be construed as a racial issue. But there are different levels of debate when discussing issues that involve race, and there’s nothing with more in-depth layers and elements than romance. For that reason, I side with love.

Lastly, there are many people checking off black on their census card and don’t have a clue or interest about racial disparities in this nation. That is a more of a concern or problem than someone who has dedicated parts of their life for the cause and decides to date outside their race.

Do you agree?

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Syria, the Office Potluck of International Relations

“When you’re invited to the holiday or general office potluck, there’s a natural reluctance to jump right in and grab a plate. The United States engagement with the Syrian Civil War is no different. The reluctance to intervene should be maintained for as long as possible.”

There’s a wide range of opinions on the current Syrian Civil War. I can bet dollars to doughnuts, no one who isn’t in Syria or Syrian has a true clue on what they’re talking about. That goes from the President of the United States to the AmandaRyan Facebook page of your high school classmate and husband who post their very narrow suburbs of Atlanta point of view of the conflict. The Syrian conflict is much more layered than seeing awful video clips of children being rushed to hospitals, and the knee jerk reaction post of the AmandaRyan account, stating, “Why don’t we do something?!”

Speaking of AmandaRyan, one of them thought it would be a good idea, instead of getting catered food, for the office to have a potluck. Potlucks are a hairline above spaghetti night at vacation bible school. And no, I’m not a foodie or food snob, I just don’t like bad food and neither does my stomach. And potlucks produce nothing but questionable looking and even more questionable tasting food. Why? Cause people can’t cook, just that simple. Some people have no business dabbling in the world of cuisine for they don’t know what they’re doing. They prepare and cook based on what they think should go into a recipe, or worse based on how they think it should taste. The result is crockpots full of boiling goo that’s supposed to be jambalaya. No, thank you.

Back to Syria.

Syria is in a sense a potluck. For starters most don’t even know where Syria is, they don’t understand the variables involved in the Syrian war, and they don’t understand why. Yes, in a simplistic way the Syrian war is between the government of Bashar Al-Assad vs rebellious forces vs a group who calls itself the Islamic State. The group was said, by then candidate Trump, to have been co-founded by Hillary Clinton and President Obama. The denouncement Trump gave is equal to someone saying, by me not liking the Backstreet Boys, it led to the creation of One Direction, crazy! Anyway, there’s three legitimate groups fighting. None of them are factions in which the United States should side with. None have pure intentions in their actions – meaning neither of the factions are fighting to establish a wholesome, non-oppressive, democratic society. No, all sides are fighting to control Syria the way they see fit, and we simply don’t know enough to understand or decide which fit is best. Which is bad.

Potlucks are generally bad for their cuisines made to the liking of a specific individuals. Unlike restaurants or people who cooked something so good all types of people request it from them, the United States should never get involved in a foreign affair in which the clear purpose and clear reasons is not understood by both the United States and the people we’re supposed to help. Simply go down the list of every bad American intervention and I don’t have to explain myself.

For a potluck, the best plan of action to avoid eating and being labeled antisocial is to simply go into the break room to show you’re aware and your presence will be noted. However, at no point are you getting a plate. The United States has already made its presence known regarding the Syrian conflict, and there’s no need to do more. Syria may look like jambalaya and we know how to get down on some jambalaya, but in actuality it’s a cold and unseasoned minestrone soup.

Dreams or Nightmares? It’s on Meek

Possibly the most impactful disparity in this nation exists in the judicial system. It’s an unfortunate reality black people know well and have to cope with every day.

After failing to advance to the second round the previous two seasons, prior to the start of the 2007 NBA playoffs, the Houston Rockets star player Tracy McGrady was asked by ESPN commentator Stephen A Smith would they get out of the first round of the playoffs. McGrady responded with a now infamous sentence, “If we don’t get out of the first round, it’s on me!” He repeatedly said the phrase “it’s on me.” Houston would go on to lose another first round playoff series in seven games to end their season. And at his postgame press conference following the Game 7 defeat, McGrady, still visibly emotional from the loss, said, “I tried, man, I tried.” McGrady was never able to lead the Rockets out of the first round in the playoffs. Ironically, after suffering a season-ending injury followed by surgery in 2009, Mc Grady watched the Rockets finally advance to the second round. Damn.

Speaking of NBA playoffs, Meek Mill, the Philadelphia native rapper, attended game five of the Philadelphia 76ers playoff matchup against the Miami Heat (4/24/18). The same Meek Mill Jay-Z and Beyoncé rapped “Free Meek” in their top-down Maybach in their collaboration single Top Off… that Meek Mill? Yes, that Meek Mill, and to quote Pac he’s “free like OJ all day.”

Granted no draconian post bail arrangement was made for Meek Mill like Tupac made with Suge Knight and Death Row records; however, it did take 76ers Co-owner Michael Rubin, Jay-Z, and other notable figures becoming vocal for Meek Mill to obtain an immediate release after serving five months in prison. Meek Mill had been in prison due to a pair of arrests that took place in 2017. He was involved in a fight in St. Louis and got caught recklessly driving his motorbike in New York City. Although both charges were dropped, Judge Genece E. Brinkley, a black female judge, reached her breaking point and sentenced him to two to four years in prison for violating his probation. A probation that spans 10 years, which included arrests from officials reportedly smelling marijuana coming from his vehicle to booking performances outside of Philly without Judge Genece Brinkley’s approval.

Most would point to Meek Mill and put it all on him like Tracy McGrady was made to be the scapegoat for years of first round playoff exits. (McGrady really did try – he averaged over 27 points per a game with Houston during those first round exits.) And yes, Meek Mill has been arrested several times; however, the crimes were never on the same level as say… Ethan Couch. You remember him, right? In 2013, Ethan Couch, at 16 years old, with a group of friends stole beer from a store and had a party at his parents’ house before going for a drive. He then struck and killed four people on the side of a road near Fort Worth, Texas, and paralyzed a passenger in his car who now suffers from brain damage. Despite defying prosecutors who sought a 20-year prison sentence, Couch would only serve a 720-day sentence. Did I mention he’s rich and white? I know, spoiler alert. He gained fame by being dubbed the “affluenza teen.” This label was given after a psychologist suggested during his trial that growing up with money might have left him with psychological afflictions, too rich to tell right from wrong. You read that correctly… too rich to know right and wrong.

Back to Meek – I know there are historical cases in which rich black people got off due to their fame and fortune. The operative word is historical, for we can only name a few of them, whereas daily black people are disproportionally punished for the same offenses as white people. The disproportions for black people regarding punishment is felt at every level… from being given more suspensions in grade school, to receiving harsher and longer punishments for the same offenses, from traffic court to even receiving worst punishments than their white soldier counterparts in military court proceedings.

What this means for the likes of Meek Mill is understanding the fine line him and other men of color must walk regarding law and order. This is not a call for respectability politics – the theory if one looked and acted right they would never get into trouble. There isn’t anything to combat the mindset of a biased police officer, a vengeful judge, or a merciless prosecutor. Meek Mill and others must understand like Tracy McGrady said, it’s on them, whether they place the target on themselves or not. Tracy McGrady stated he would carry his team to victory and the opposition exposed that statement. Meek Mill knows he’s a target, and they’re literally waiting to see if and when he acts up again. A slip up where he can only blame himself.

Meek Mill was all smiles during the playoff game as the cameras caught him sitting beside comedian Kevin Hart. It’s on him, and only him to never again have those same cameras catch him walking up the steps of a courthouse.

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The Invisible Numbers of a Teacher’s Salary

Very few subjects are dreaded more than high-end mathematics. I for one hated high-end mathematics with a passion. One subject in Algebra that really burned my bridges was invisible numbers. Yes, there’s a subject in Algebra in which you learn about invisible numbers. Essentially, an imaginary number is the square root of a negative number and does not have a tangible value. Did you get that, no tangible value! In high school, I asked my math teacher with true sincerity what was the point and purpose of learning about invisible numbers. What are they used for? What’s the history of invisible numbers? And once again the numbers are invisible! We’re talking about invisible numbers, man, channeling my Allen Iverson practice interview, I stated “invisible” a dozen times. He responded with how most teachers respond to questions they would rather not nor can answer, “It’s in the curriculum and I have to teach it and you have to know it.”

Fast forward to today and invisible numbers came into my mind once more. This time in relation to the recent news of teachers in Oklahoma on the verge of demanding higher pay. They should demand to get out of Oklahoma, hook ’em nation forever! But that’s for the college football season. The Oklahoma teachers storyline isn’t new, its a sad reoccurring storyline of “teachers demanding more pay.”

The general public always has their opinion on this issue. They vary from the usual “we should pay teachers like we pay athletes” to “maybe teachers do make enough, maybe they spend outside their means.”

Most tend to side with teachers don’t make enough, which they DO NOT. However, they will never get Lebron James’s salary for his money comes from entertainment. And teachers money, of course, comes from their respective state or municipality.

That leads me to the main purpose of this article. The focus is only on teachers’ salaries, yet ignore the reason for teachers demanding higher salaries. The reason is cost of living in relation to salary.

Simply put, the rent is too high and teachers’ salaries don’t equal the growing cost to simply live. Not live in luxury, but simply to keep the lights on, put gas in the car, and an occasional bite to eat.

For example… Teachers in New York are the highest paid in the nation, with an average salary of a little less than $77,000 a year. However, when you factor in what they pay for living expenses and taxes they fall to 22nd place with an adjusted salary of $50,022, which is good for Alabama, not Astoria.

The invisible numbers of the cost of living and separating the objective from the subjective means that definition will forever have economists employed. What is needed to respectfully live and not be forced to work ancillary work or do things that may in comparison to one’s career or morals never be truly defined? There are basics that must be accounted for, especially for the most important profession outside health, which in my opinion is education.

So what’s the solution?

On the forefront, educational spending would have to go into one bucket and not be solely based on local property tax revenue, which is the main reason the Philadelphia school district pays its teachers far less than the affluent Montgomery County pays its teachers, which is just the north. Additionally, a review of teachers’ salary in comparison to that school district’s area salaries with the same credentials and standards for employment should be required. Standards like a college degree, background check, working hour amount, etc.

The invisible numbers surrounding teachers salaries are the same invisible working measures they encounter daily – such as driving a kid home because their parent is stuck in traffic or paying for a student’s field trip because his parents can’t afford it. And the most common, buying supplies for their class. The numbers simply aren’t enough to truly calculate a fair and accurate measure to ensure teachers take home the pay they deserve.

The Maybach Music of Policing

“A bad police department is much like a bad sports team. The first victory is won in the front office. The first sign of a good police department is in city hall.” – Trae Lewis, a former Baltimore City Police Officer

In previous articles for The LCR, I promised to never use another Training Day reference. I wished I hadn’t, for this article centers around police misconduct and corruption; and what better movie to highlight police misconduct and corruption than Training Day. However, I was actually a cop for possibly the most profiled police department in recent memory for all the wrong reasons, the Baltimore City Police Department. Yes, I was a real cop for Baltimore City. To quote Rick Ross, “I knew Noriega, the real the Noriega,” for Rick Ross his emphasis was on the validity of his drug connects. I know – bad example to highlight police corruption especially when a lot of their recent corruption centers around drugs being planted on people. Well, Rick Ross is currently under critical medical care, and I’m wishing him well. Plus it’s just a cool line.  

Anyway, as opposed to those who speak on police misconduct, corruption, and brutality via the voice of an observer or an unfortunate victim, I can speak on the subject from the experience of being a cop for more than five years.   To quote another Rick Ross line, “It’s deeper than rap.”   Historically speaking, the face of police corruption is a white male cop wrongfully beating, arresting, or doing anything you can think of to mistreat a person. This is very true. The business end of police corruption has been black people, largely young black males. The doer of the business has been white males; however, many principles came into play before that outcome.

Get ready for a very complicated explanation. Just like how Rick Ross somehow was a major drug pusher, yet his previous job before becoming a successful rapper was one of a correctional officer. ?

People question the abuse of police against citizens, especially young black males. The answer begins with the entity that empowers the police, for they themselves mistreat citizens, especially young black males. From lack of funding for proper education, carelessness for environmental standards (cough Flint, Michigan), gross gentrification, and countless other traits of a badly ran town, city, state, and federal government including the administration. Furthermore, find me a municipality with government corruption, mismanagement of resources, etc., and I’ll bet dollars to donuts that their police department is responsible for many of the notable negative incidents in its past.

This, of course, does not excuse the acts of blatant wrongdoing of some police officers. However, it’s hard to expect an efficient and properly managed police force when their city hall is messed up from the floor up.

A department like Baltimore City police is tasked with “cleaning up the city” with none of the underbelly social structures needed to help neighborhoods. A major lack of planning from city hall. So the result, as we saw in the early 2000s with Baltimore, was a war of attrition. The city thought it could literally arrest itself out of its problems. In the mid-2000s, Baltimore police arrested over a 100,000 people yearly and the city only had a little over 600,000 citizens to begin with. The theory of arresting as many people as possible to stop the wrongdoing obviously had no merit, most arrests were bogus. The arrests stretched the boundaries of what’s considered lawful – like the arrest of Freddie Grey, and the result is… well, everything from planted guns and drugs on people to officers on the take.

As Rick Ross said, “God forgives and I don’t,” and though I don’t forgive the acts of wrongdoing by police officers, I do think of the Magnificent (a Rick Ross song) job countless cops do a daily basis. And more importantly, I know in order to get a workplace truly right you don’t just go after the workers, you go after the boss (of course, in my Rick Ross voice).

Want to learn more about Trae? Check out… traelewis.com

Training for the Government Shutdown

“Let’s be clear, the government shutdown could have been avoided. For a federal shutdown is not about lack of funding, but literally because of political agenda indifferences, congress has decided to place an “out for lunch” sign on the federal government.”

In Training Day, Alonzo asks Jake “you want to go jail, or do you want to go to home?” to pressure him into looking past the criminal actions of his scandalous drug unit, for the betterment of his own career and the actions his unit committed against a drug dealer. So, no love lost. The “go to jail” part, would be Alonzo and his unit framing Jake for the outright murder they committed on the drug dealer. Jake, had the initial inclination to report that the murder was unwarranted. The “go home” Part, would be a recommendation from Alonzo to advance Jake’s career in the future and Jake could get Alonzo another day. Jake decided to “go home”, movie-wise not really, but you get the point. He waited to go after Alonzo on another day.

So how does that relate to the government shutdown? The principals involved.

Trump and the Democrats in Congress have used their push of personal political interests to allow spending for nonessential federal services to stop. Pathetic. The Democrats for months have been working with Trump and the Republicans in Congress to resolve issues surrounding DACA. DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) and immigration as a whole was one of the core issues that propelled Trump to the presidency. Trump has insisted issues such as funding for the wall be a part of any immigration deal; the Democrats essentially told Trump to kick rocks, which led to an impasse on the issue and the subsequent government shutdown. The shutdown, which has nothing to do with immigration or any political issues for that matter, has been used to prove a point.

In Training Day, Alonzo and his crooked clan of cops shot and killed a drug dealer in his home to steal thousands he had underneath the floor. Alonzo needed that money to pay off a Russian mob debt he accumulated in Las Vegas. Given this is an election year, Trump must pander to his following and stay true to his wall claim and about being tough on immigration. The Democrats must pander to their following and fight on behalf of those who fall under the guidelines of DACA. And like Alonzo they took benefits and money away from the American people, by shutting down the government, for the betterment of their own agendas.

I told you I could relate the government shutdown to Training Day!

So, who is going home and who is going to jail? Trick question. For both the Democrats and Trump have realized how bad it looked for them to stop the operation of the government for their personal gain. They both don’t want to go jail, which would be political backlash, and both have decided to go home and fight this another day.

In the movie Training Day, Jake went through a lot to eventually get Alonzo, but eventually he went down. The Democrats allegedly pulled all the stops to try and satisfy Alonzo, I mean Trump, including adding funding for the wall on the Mexican border. The DACA issue is important, however the Democrats should not put themselves in the position of using political issues against the primary duty of their job, running the government. A lack of duty that will not be forgotten at the polls. In Training day Jake eventually brought Alonzo down, a combination of his intervention and Alonzo’s crooked history brought his demise. Trump’s continual doubling down on his outlandish ideals and agenda, which are highly unpopular outside his base, should hurt Republicans in November. The Democrats just have to construct a feasible plan for their agenda, go home, and watch Trump go to jail. At this rate not just figuratively, but possibly literally.