Current Events, Interviews
‘Glock’: An Interview with author Paul Barrett
http://newbooksinpublicpolicy.com/2013/05/02/paul-barrett-glock-the-rise-of-americas-gun-broadway-2013/ History is in many respects the story of humanity’s quest for transcendence: to control life and death, time and space, loss and memory. When inventors or companies effectively tap into these needs products emerge that help define their times. The Kodak ‘Brownie’ allowed average consumers – without the knowledge of chemistry or math of [...]
Current Events
The Marcy Project: Jay Z and Cuba
The reaction from some on the right to Jay Z and Beyonce’s Cuban vacation reminds me of the moments following the death of Stringer Bell on ‘The Wire’. Bunk Moreland interviews the only witness to the murder – an unscrupulous contractor – who describes the shooter as a ‘big black guy with a big gun’. [...]
Current Events
The Island of Dr. Carson
Last week Dr. Ben Carson further damaged his credibility and his chances of becoming the 2016 Republican presidential candidate by equating proponents of gay marriage with those that engage in pedophilia and bestiality. Here is his statement: “Marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, [...]
Current Events
High Five!! Convenience, Cowardice and Marriage Equality
When my son was about one and a half he would occasionally walk over to the bookshelf, toss all of the books from the bottom shelf onto the floor, then put them back (in no particular order of course). Once he had put the books back, he’d scream ‘yay!’, applaud himself, then run over for [...]
Blacks and Conservatives, Current Events
Race and Reaction: A conversation with Corey Robin
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/duelinginterests/2013/02/03/race-and-reaction-a-conversation-with-corey-robin Every week or so an author or pundit posits a new theory to explain the ‘crack up’ on the Right. Some attribute it to opportunism run amok; others to stupidity. Some argue that through a brilliant sleight of hand the Right has convinced many Americans to vote against their own interests by emphasizing social [...]
Current Events
The Marcy Project: Jay Z and Cuba
Posted on 14 April 2013
The reaction from some on the right to Jay Z and Beyonce’s Cuban vacation reminds me of the moments following the death of Stringer Bell on ‘The Wire’. Bunk Moreland interviews the only witness to the murder – an unscrupulous contractor – who describes the shooter as a ‘big black guy with a big gun’. [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
High Five!! Convenience, Cowardice and Marriage Equality
Posted on 28 March 2013
When my son was about one and a half he would occasionally walk over to the bookshelf, toss all of the books from the bottom shelf onto the floor, then put them back (in no particular order of course). Once he had put the books back, he’d scream ‘yay!’, applaud himself, then run over for [...] Continue Reading
Blacks and Conservatives, Current Events
Race and Reaction: A conversation with Corey Robin
Posted on 04 February 2013
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/duelinginterests/2013/02/03/race-and-reaction-a-conversation-with-corey-robin Every week or so an author or pundit posits a new theory to explain the ‘crack up’ on the Right. Some attribute it to opportunism run amok; others to stupidity. Some argue that through a brilliant sleight of hand the Right has convinced many Americans to vote against their own interests by emphasizing social [...] Continue Reading
Current Events, History
Dead Precedent – Ruckus and Reagan
Posted on 24 January 2013
One of my favorite characters on “The Boondocks” is Uncle Ruckus, a hard-working, self-hating, foul-mouthed, delusional black man whose hostility to black people is only matched by his faith in the innate wisdom and goodness of white people. Uncle Ruckus views his blackness as a sort of mark of Cain that he must endure until [...] Continue Reading
Current Events, Film/TV
Truth, Tarantino, and “Django” Explained
Posted on 22 January 2013
“Django Unchained” leaves me in the odd position of contributing to a problem while I propose a solution to it. Django’s not a serious film about slavery or race or anything really and does not warrant the attention or the controversy that it has created. It’s both a blood-soaked, action-packed romp and a rescue revenge [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
When Keepin’ it Real Goes Wrong – Authenticity and the GOP
Posted on 24 November 2012
In the weeks and months following President Obama’s reelection, Republicans will struggle to rebrand and redefine themselves for the electorate. A few have already come forward with prescriptions for the future. Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana argues that the GOP must stop being the ‘stupid party’ and craft a message for all Americans. John Boehner [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
The Wilderness – President Obama and the Conservative Movement
Posted on 12 November 2012
As the post-election euphoria wears off, many of President Obama’s supporters – myself among them – ponder his future and that of the conservative movement. Conservatives seem to be moving through the various stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance – though not necessarily in that order, leading many of my more [...] Continue Reading
Blacks and Conservatives
Blacks and Conservatives – Intro
Posted on 11 November 2012
Several months back a statistic emerged that was revealing yet misunderstood. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney would receive 0% of the black vote in spite of the fact that many blacks agree with conservatives on some social issues. The point of this series is to examine the roots of this supposed contradiction and shed some light [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
Voters and Lepers
Posted on 27 September 2012
The Voter ID debate demands that one acknowledge the obvious, but then advance the absurd. Of course voter fraud occurs. Lyndon Johnson stole his first election back in 1948. Kennedy pulled some funny business in 1960 in Chicago. Dead people vote. Felons vote. People vote more than once on occasion. Sure. It happens, but to [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
Eastwooding: Some thoughts on defying the lunatic fringe…
Posted on 08 September 2012
Working in NYC means riding public transportation and occasionally having a crazy person try to strike up a conversation about poison in the water, Jewish cabals, or gay conspiracies involving probes of one kind or another. I can never be sure if the individual is serious or joking or more importantly armed or unarmed, so [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
Timbuktu, Texas
Posted on 19 August 2012
Friedrich Nietzsche, when discussing the character of his countrymen, observed that to be German was to endlessly question ‘what is German‘. Many attribute this sense of civic alienation to a combination of rapid industrialization, urban migration, and population explosion. The Germans were a people ‘becoming’ and ‘developing’, in the words of Nietzsche, like many or [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
Waffle Fries and Separation of Church and State
Posted on 02 August 2012
A couple of weeks ago Chick Fil A’s President, Dan Cathy, went on the record with his support of ‘traditional marriage’, noting his frustration with the ‘prideful and arrogant attitude’ of those who ‘want to change what marriage is all about’, basically affirming his opposition to gay marriage and more significantly his support of organizations [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
The Origins of the Religious Right
Posted on 01 August 2012
It is widely believed that the Religious Right traces its political origins to Roe v. Wade, suggesting that outrage over abortion led the often apolitical evangelical movement to become stalwart supporters of conservative causes and Republican candidates. In the attached video Dr. Randal Balmer of Emory University challenges this theory, tracing the evangelical movement’s shift [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
Dollar, Sense, and the NAACP
Posted on 29 June 2012
Last week the NAACP launched an investigation into the arrest of Creflo Dollar, an Atlanta mega church pastor accused of assaulting and battering his fifteen year old daughter. In a press statement, Fayette County NAACP President Jon Jones, said that the goal of their investigation is to ensure that Pastor Dollar is allowed to be [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
House N*ggas in Paris
Posted on 11 June 2012
Last week, as rappers Jay Z and Kanye West were about to go onstage and perform their hit single ‘N*ggas in Paris’, actress Gwyneth Paltrow tweeted “N*ggas in Paris for real” and caused a bit of controversy. There’s some debate about whether or not she was announcing the song or saluting her ‘niggas’ or whatever. [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
George Zimmerman: Imbecility and Evil in Sanford, Fl.
Posted on 23 March 2012
By the time you read this new facts will have emerged, but this is what we know so far. Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old young man, leaves his father’s fiancee’s house, buys a pack of Skittles and an Arizona ice tea then heads home. En route, George Zimmerman – a neighborhood watch cop– notices [...] Continue Reading
Current Events
Drug Free Utopia
Posted on 13 March 2012
The goal of a ‘Drug Free Society’ resembles that of a “Workers’ Paradise” or a “Rational Market” in its presumption that human beings are both predictable and perfectible, as long as the state behaves in one way or another and the consequence of inaction will be – not the status quo – but chaos. To [...] Continue Reading
Interviews
Master of the Mountain: An Interview with Henry Wiencek
Posted on 19 May 2013
http://newbooksinafroamstudies.com/2013/05/15/henry-wiencek-master-of-the-mountain-thomas-jefferson-and-his-slaves-gsf-2012/ The Louisiana Purchase was a perfect illustration of the challenges, yet seemingly boundless opportunities that slavery presented statesmen like Thomas Jefferson. Napoleon Bonaparte had been dealt a significant military defeat at the hands of a slave revolt in Haiti, forcing him to reconsider his interests in the Americas and the Caribbean. So, when Jefferson’s [...] Continue Reading
Current Events, Interviews
‘Glock’: An Interview with author Paul Barrett
Posted on 04 May 2013
http://newbooksinpublicpolicy.com/2013/05/02/paul-barrett-glock-the-rise-of-americas-gun-broadway-2013/ History is in many respects the story of humanity’s quest for transcendence: to control life and death, time and space, loss and memory. When inventors or companies effectively tap into these needs products emerge that help define their times. The Kodak ‘Brownie’ allowed average consumers – without the knowledge of chemistry or math of [...] Continue Reading
History, Interviews
Darkest America: A conversation with Yuval Taylor
Posted on 29 April 2013
The moral arguments in defense of slavery hinged on the claim that it was the best arrangement for all parties involved, especially the slaves. Thomas Jefferson, for example, argued that the differences between black slaves and white masters were ‘fixed in nature‘, with blacks being condemned to an existence driven more by ‘sensation than reflection’, [...] Continue Reading
Interviews
Black Against Empire – Interview
Posted on 20 April 2013
German military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz observed that many of the important variables in war exist in ‘clouds of great uncertainty’ which create disconnects and confusion that persist even after the fighting has ended. The conflict between the Black Panther Party and the United States government is in ways illustrative of this phenomenon–or ‘the fog [...] Continue Reading
Interviews
The Black Russian – Interview
Posted on 09 April 2013
I’m partnering with the guys over at New Books Network. Here’s a link to an interview with author Vladimir Alexandrov about his book “The Black Russian”. The Black Russian (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2013) tells the epic and often tragic story of Fredrick Bruce Thomas, an African-American born to recently freed slaves, who would go on [...] Continue Reading
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