McCain Votes “NO” and Saves Obamacare

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Shortly after midnight, in a historic vote, Senator John McCain voted “No” to Mitch McConnel’s Healthcare Freedom Act, also known as the “skinny repeal.” As the last Senator to cast his vote, he had the power to either pass or kill the bill. He chose the latter and joined Senator’s Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkoski of Alaska. The irony… McCain was one of President Obama’s loudest critics regarding the Affordable Care Act, and last night he was the final vote, which essentially saved President Obama’s bill.

McCain was recently diagnosed with brain cancer; however, he flew back to Washington earlier this week to vote “Yes” on the motion to move forward with health-care legislation. He then took to the Senate floor to ridicule his party for trying to pass a bad bill.

“Stop listening to the bombastic loudmouths on the radio and television and the Internet… To hell with them! They don’t want anything done for the public good. Our incapacity is their livelihood. Let’s trust each other. Let’s return to regular order.” 

This is truly a historic moment in America’s efforts to get healthcare right. After 7 years of campaigning to repeal and replace Obamacare, Republicans have failed to deliver and pass a better bill. What’s next for the Republican Party?

Trump Bans Transgender People In U.S. Military

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“What the Commander in Chief did yesterday was shameful. Yes, as a servicemember I am openly rebuking the Commander in Chief. An act of bigotry and discrimination is wrong, regardless who it comes from.” 

On July 26, 2017, President Donald Trump issued a ban on all transgender people from serving in the military. Trump is known for his love of banning and placing barriers on groups of people, so this isn’t too shocking. What is shocking is an all-out ban. One of the Obama administration’s last acts regarding military policy was the allowance of transgender people in the military and persons in the military to transition into a gender other than the one they originally entered the military as.

This move done by Trump flies in the face on a couple of fronts. It goes against candidate Donald Trump who in 2016 stated he would be a strong defender of the LGBT community. It also goes against President Trump by allowing a review of transgender recruiting enrollment into the military, which was slated to end in December 2017. Instead, Trump abruptly broke his campaign promise and ended his own administration’s plans.

Until this ban, the U.S. Military for the first time in its history was truly inclusive. Women could finally serve in combat roles, sexual orientation no longer mattered – we had finally arrived. Many will still say this nation has the greatest military representing the most diverse group of people on the planet. If this ruling stands that simply will not be true. To have any reservation of any group of people entering the military not based on universal standards regarding their ability to get the job done is meaningless, shameful, and discriminating.

The main justification Trump used was “tremendous medical costs and disruption,” which could also be applied to a pregnant woman or to any veteran on disability. Just for number’s sake, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to cost taxpayers nearly a $1 trillion dollars in healthcare costs alone. If nearly $1 trillion dollars spent on healthcare as a result of two wars isn’t a tremendous medical cost and disruption, I don’t know what is. Does this mean we can expect the Trump administration to withdraw military forces worldwide? Close bases stateside? Shrink the military budget to reflect pre-Reagan numbers? This ban just doesn’t make any sense.

Barack Obama… The Man Vs. The President

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“One can have profound respect for Barack Obama the man, and one can also show no support or care for Barack Obama the President.”

A week before leaving office outspoken President Obama critic Tavis Smiley penned a brief, yet direct, letter of appreciation towards President Obama. The message of appreciation was titled, “A Letter to Obama, In Gratitude and Love.” In summary, Mr. Smiley detailed his appreciation for Barack Obama the man and his character and grace as President. There was no mention or thanks regarding Barack Obama’s accomplishments as President. I’d argue that Mr. Smiley’s lack of appreciation for President Obama is appropriate, and similar to Mr. Smiley, I was a strong critic of the President as well. Despite the criticism, Mr. Smiley stayed the course for Obama by voting for him twice, which something I did not do. I know, shocker! A black man who didn’t vote for Obama?!? Yes, and I’ll easily explain.

Like my fellow fraternal brother Tavis Smiley, I appreciated Barack Obama the man. I thank him for his sound mind and spirit and efforts in attempting inclusion of all American interests in his policies. From the moment I voted for him in 2008 to the point I was greatly disappointed followed by his final days in office, make no mistake about it, I admired Barack Obama.

Mr. Smiley was very outspoken against President Obama during his presidency. Obama’s lackluster response to the Trayvon Martin case and the fact that Black Americans lost great economical ground in America during his presidency were two of the main issues in which he criticized Obama.

I personally stopped supporting President Obama due to his failure to pass universal healthcare in 2010. I don’t want to hear anything about what he couldn’t do. Democrats controlled Congress and it could have been done. If he would’ve passed universal healthcare, what’s going on now in the Republican led Congress regarding the healthcare debate would’ve been much harder to do. Moving on… Obama failed to revise the tax code, failed to make social security solvent or even attempt to make it solvent, failed to address the next economic bubble of student loans/education cost, and last but not least failed to address draconian federal drug laws.

Sure, my social media timelines are filled with people posting pictures of the Obama first family and support for Obama. However, I wonder if that support is for Obama the President or Obama the man. Obama the man, from what we know is as honorable as they come. Obama the President, well, I’m glad I can order my politics a la carte. For that’s a dish I prefer not to have.

Tavis Smiley: A Letter to Obama, In Gratitude and Love

Betrayal of the Coal Miner

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No, coal is not coming back.

Among President Trump’s many campaign promises was to bring coal back, claiming to increase jobs to miners who are unemployed. Experts disagree, and cite a number of reasons, not the least of which is that other forms – including natural gas, hydroelectricity, and solar – have replaced coal as a viable and sustainable source of energy.

This is nothing new. Alternative sources of energy have been outpacing coal for years now. While federal regulations aimed at improving public health increased the pace of decline, experts say that natural gas is largely to blame. Cheaper and cleaner than coal, natural gas has increased in market share, forcing out coal as the dominant source of energy in this country.

The entire coal industry employed around 53,000 in 2016 – 25,000 of which are directly related to the actual mining and processing of coal. The industry has seen a nearly 39 percent decline since its most recent peak in 2008. Coal makes up a very small percentage of total employment numbers in this country.

The problem with this empty promise is that the vast majority of coal mining jobs are isolated to small pockets of Wyoming, West Virginia and Kentucky, where some 585 million tons of coal are extracted and processed. This means that miners are concentrated in very small areas where it is just about the only game in town. This puts those who work in the mines in a very precarious position. Most employed in the mining industry come from generations of family members who also made a living that way. This small section of the labor force saw Trump as the hero of the coal miner. So far, his actions have been anything but heroic.

The main driver of the promise, however, is that Trump has friends in the coal industry. Coal magnates like Wilbur Ross, the current commerce secretary, have been tight with Trump for years. Ross was the owner of the Sago Mine at the time of the explosion in 2006, killing 12 miners. He is also indirectly responsible, along with other investors of a failing mine they purchased, for stripping the health benefits of miners – some of which had black lung disease. Trump, Ross, and other billionaires are no friends of the people. Their sole goal is to line their pockets without a thought to the people whose lives are destroyed in the process.

It could be that Trump and his supporters genuinely believe that coal mining can come back into favor. This is dangerously delusional and patently unrealistic, and the laughable and completely bogus campaign of “clean coal” is intended to bolster that belief.

The bottom line: Trump is selling a bill of goods. There is no possible way that coal can come back to employ all those who have suffered in the wake of the decline. But some organizations are trying to help the coal miners train for and find skilled work in other sectors. But, Trump is seeking to axe those programs, putting unemployed miners in greater jeopardy.

Diversity in Recruiting, Pt. I

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Last June, an article was published by The Root naming Black women the most educated group in the US. That’s something to celebrate, right? Well, yes. Except the article then went on to say that in a recent study, black women were found to make up only 8% of private sector jobs and less than 2% of leadership roles. How is it possible that black women are proving to be highly educated, but are still having trouble with representation in Corporate America? Is this an issue that is only affecting black women? I think it’s fair to say that there are many educated black men as well as other minorities and even veterans who can relate to the job market hustle.

Applying for a job is no easy task. You have to research the company in order to write a decent, personalized cover letter, check all your LinkedIn connections to see if anyone has a connection to help you get a foot in the door, make sure your resume or CV reflects the needs of the company, etc. After all of that, you send your application in hoping to at least receive confirmation that it was received. Then, you have to start all over and do the same thing for the next company. It can be really draining. Imagine doing that for weeks or months on end with no hope of even getting a job interview.

Meanwhile, on the other side, a hiring manager sends out a job description to their network of colleagues and associates who then recommends candidates from their own network. Many times, those networks are built from college and professional organizations. If the college or professional organization is not diverse, you’re essentially going to get a carbon copy of what you already have.

Ideas are born from the combination of your education and experience. If everyone has the same educational background and similar life experiences, how can new and innovative ideas be formed? It takes bringing people from different backgrounds and different walks of life, aka diversity, to make businesses thrive.

How can an organization foster diversity? By breaking out into new worlds unexplored. There are so many professional organizations that are geared towards minority groups. Find them. There are many universities that have Black student associations. Establish a relationship. Howard University, Spelman College, Morehouse, etc. are producing some of the top college graduates in the country. Go there and recruit. It takes effort.

We’ve all been told that hard work pays off. That’s one of those quotes that I believe to be true. Putting in the work to diversify your work environment is definitely one of the jobs worth the effort. Not only does hiring more diversely drive innovation and creativity, but you’re also likely to capture more market share. Having a diverse staff means your company knows how to communicate and connect with different cultures, and eventually convert them into customers. By increasing diversity, you could essentially be increasing your company’s financial performance.

It is now 2017 and it’s time that we stop talking about making things more diverse and just do it. Systematic differences, which negatively impact minorities, have been in place since the dawn of this country, but it’s clear that many of us are excelling regardless. Will the hard work of those individuals pay off? I definitely hope so, but it’s hard to achieve success without opportunity. The time for sharing those opportunities is now.

Trump’s “New” Cuba Policy

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During a speech given in Miami’s Little Havana” on Friday, June 16th, 2017, President Donald Trump criticized his predecessor’s Cuba policy, saying it allowed the Castro regime to benefit from increased tourism. “Effectively immediately,” Trump said, “I am canceling the last administration’s completely one-sided deal with Cuba.”

Technically, this is not the case. The real policy changes Trump is going to implement are less significant than he led everyone to believe they would be. Many of the Obama administration’s policy will remain in place. Under the new policy – Americans will no longer have the ability to plan their own private, individual “educational” trips to Cuba, and those who go as part of authorized educational group tours will be subject to stricter rules and guidelines. American companies and citizens will also be banned from doing business with companies controlled by the Cuban military or its intelligence or security services. But the relaxed rules that made it easier for US companies to do business in Cuba will stay in place. Cruises and direct flights between the US and Cuba will still be allowed, and Cuban Americans will still be able to travel freely to the island and send money to relatives there.  

These actions come at an inopportune time because, towards the end of his tenure, President Obama directed his attention on the thawing of relations between the two cold war enemies. Using his executive authority, Obama relaxed some of the trade and travel restrictions in the longstanding US economic embargo on the Cuban nation. In July 2016 – The U.S. officially restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and reopened its embassy in Havana. All of which makes Trump new initiative frustrating for growing businesses in Cuba, and travelers alike. In November, then-president-elect Trump tweeted that he would “terminate” the deal unless Cuba agreed to “make a better” one, but instead of terminating the deal, it seems that Trump is content with leaving most of the important policies in place.

So why do all this?

The main reason Trump cites for opposing the Obama Administration’s deal is that it didn’t go far enough in the right direction — Trump has so far shown little commitment to promoting such values elsewhere, especially if doing so comes at the expense of US economic interests. Part of the reason Trump’s new policy doesn’t go far enough as his rhetoric suggests is that it has to do with US economic interests. Consider the direct flights between the US and Cuba, as John Kavulich, the president of the US-Cuba trade and economic council mentioned back in November 2016. The administration would face major opposition, which would include lawsuits from the airline industry if Trump were to do terminate the deal. Why, because airlines have already made large financial investments in “good faith” based on the new regulations from the Obama administration.  And that’s just the airlines! A number of tourism and travel companies such as Airbnb, Carnival Cruise Line, and Starwood Hotels have also taken advantage of the Obama administration’s relaxed restrictions to expand into Cuba, hoping to cash in on what will become a hot new tourist haven. Airbnb alone (Cuba to Trump: US in no ‘condition to lecture us’ on human rights), over the past two years has been able to bring 40 million dollars back to the Cuban people who have rented out their homes for travelers.

Hilariously, this somewhat tougher stance with Cuba won’t get Trump the response he’s looking for. After all, 50 years of tough US policies toward Cuba failed to achieve the desired political, social, and economic reforms inside the island nation. The idea of what Trump wants and desires are totally out of par with what Americans want and desire. The world is continually evolving and changing, which makes decisions such as this all the more frustrating because of the impact it has on our countries relationships with our neighbors as well as with our ability to travel freely and learn from other cultures. 

Your Opinion, Please LEAVE Home Without It

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On June 26, 2015, my birthday by the way (shameless plug I know), the United States Supreme Court decided to amend the US Constitution and grant same-sex couples the right to marry. I think it’s important to note that this decision was made despite the United States Supreme Court being headed by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was a George W Bush appointee and very conservative. Even if a particular state did not have gay marriage, all states had to recognize gay marriage. In its aftermath, contrary to the opposition belief, civilization and traditional marriage hasn’t faltered in the two years since the Supreme Court decision. Despite the world turning out just fine, some people’s opinion on the idea of legalized same sex marriage is an issue that must take precedence over stuff that actually matters. Unfortunately, those same people have real power and influence.  

On Friday June 30, a mere two years and a few days removed from the watershed Supreme Court decision, the nine-member Texas Supreme Court unanimously reversed a lower court’s ruling favoring the city of Houston’s decision to extend health and life insurance benefits to the spouses of city employees in same-sex marriages. The court ordered the case sent back to the trial court in Houston. In summary, the Texas Supreme Court said that while same-sex marriage is legal, the reach and ramifications of the rights of gay couples have yet to be determined. Whatever that means. Here’s the thing, if the United States Supreme Court states same-sex couples have the right to marry, that would mean there aren’t any contingencies. Right? So what is the issue?

I can tell you. Sexual orientation and the opposition to it in any fashion is usually wrapped in someone’s “faith”. I really don’t buy that, I think its pure bigotry, but I’ll go with “faith” for the sake of argument. Even still, that’s your opinion. Your faith is your own theological taking, not the worlds. More importantly, no one should suffer or have their life altered because of your faith, especially when those alterations come via the hands of the government. There are real world consequences when someone’s benefits are altered.

A common phrase people throw around when stating off the wall political references is “well it’s just my opinion”. No it’s not just an opinion. An opinion is Pepsi or Coke. LeBron or Jordan. Nas or Jay Z. A political opinion is a DECISION, its impactful, it’s alerting. A kneejerk political opinion has real world consequences. In our country, political opinions have gone unchecked, more extreme, polarizing, and caused national issues to become stagnate.  

A viewpoint and an opinion is worthless when a same sex couple walks into a doctor’s office in Houston next week and unbeknownst to them, their coverage is frozen and they have to pay out of pocket. That $250 out of pocket cost now causes them to be able to get a part on their car fix, and have to only use one car. And then and then and then (in my “Dude where’s my car” voice), but in all seriousness, one unneeded decision on the part of the Texas Supreme Court alters countless lives. For what? There’s nothing wrong with having an ideology, we all have them. From taxes to foreign aid, we must have different viewpoints to have lively debates and discussions. There’s something very dangerous when that ideology becomes fixated on stances that are non-secular, separatist, denies access to services, and quite frankly wastes time. 

Not Guilty, Again

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Not guilty. Two words that in the past years send a chill down my spine, make my stomach turn, and cause tears to roll down my cheeks. Not guilty.  Two words that seem to be said repeatedly when a Black person is killed due to the actions of a police officer.  Not guilty. So what number is this now? 17? 20? I am starting to lose track.

When the verdict of not guilty was announced for the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile a wave of sadness came over me. I end up falling into my same routine… Googling articles on the case, talking to friends and family, and replaying the information I have gathered on the case in my head over and over again.  Though this process causes my soul to cry, I cannot stop researching.  How and why could a jury believe this officer was not guilty?  Is this really happening again?  I watched the live-streamed video posted by Philando Castile’s girlfriend last year.  Where was the gun on Philando’s lap according to the Blue Lives Matter following? Where was the threat of imminent danger the officer claimed he was in?

This fear of imminent danger officers keep using as their defense has become a tired excuse to mask the officer’s lack of training on how to deescalate confrontational situations and how to deal with their own personal biases against people of color.  As a person who has worn uniform the majority of my life and has always been a rule-follower, I have the utmost respect for authority and authority systems.  However, it is becoming painstakingly clear that the system is not made to benefit or protect people of color.  Even if you comply with the law enforcements’ requests you still are at risk of being killed in cold blood if the officer is fearful for his/her life.  I am Black.  I was raised around Black people, in particular Black men, who love their family and community.  I am a proud daddy’s girl who sees my dad, uncles, and male cousins as nothing more than gentle giants.  I come from a married two-parent household, as do most of my cousins and closest friends. So when I constantly hear this narrative that Black people, in particular Black men, are angry, aggressive and uncontrollable monsters in which deadly force is the only way to subdue them, I scream that’s a lie.  When an officer approaches a situation thinking the person they’re encountering is an adversary, not a human, their minds will play tricks on them.  Suddenly the officer’s biased internal thoughts turn into outward fear and we have yet another death of an unarmed Black person on our hands.

Normally society has a soft spot for women and children. Philando Castile was in the car with his long-time girlfriend and preschool aged daughter.  The fact that the officer shot 7 shots into the car with a child in the backseat; yet didn’t at least get charged with ‘endangering safety by discharging a firearm,’ though the child was in the bullets’ trajectory, is absolutely unbelievable.  This case says to me America’s soft spot doesn’t apply to Black women and children.  This case says that it is ok to kill a significant other and father in front of their loved ones. This case says that the danger a supposedly trained officer feels he is in is of more significance than the danger he is putting the community he is supposed to be serving in.  Overall, when the people who have taken an oath to protect and serve a community cause routine havoc in our lives to the point where Philando Castile’s daughter at the tender age of 4 has to console her mother telling her everything is going to be ok, we are living in scary times.

I fear for the future of my people.  The constant images and videos of Black men and women taking their last breaths is going to have long-lasting effects on Black peoples’ mental status.  Having to go to work/school and function like nothing is wrong and you did not witness another murder has become the norm.

 When you have to engage in the sympathetic conversations after the attacks on Paris occur, or the attack at Ariana Grande’s concert; yet, no classmate/coworker asks if you are okay after another Black person is murdered by law enforcement and their killer walks free, the mental anguish is suffocating.

When the family of a dog shot and killed by police in Maryland can be awarded $1.26 million in wrongful dog death lawsuit, why can’t one officer be held responsible in the death of an unarmed Black person? Are dogs held in higher regard than a Black human? Overall, you start to wonder are we being exterminated as a people?  In my opinion, it feels like we are and unfortunately no one seems to care.