It’s been one year since the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. And now, we are all bracing for what is being called Unite the Right 2, planned for this weekend in the Washington, D.C. area. A state of emergency has been declared in Virginia ahead of the…
Ask The Chairman
It's About Reputation, Stupid
This morning, I read about immigrant mothers separated from their children who are not likely to be reunited because they only speak indigenous languages (not Spanish). Federal officials, compelled by the court to reunite them, have no way of communicating. If this doesn’t touch your heart, you’re in trouble. Families…
Suck It Up, Were Screwed
The retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy puts our country at a crossroads where there’s only one expected outcome: a bizarrely out of touch and unrepresentative Supreme Court, for generations to come. I don’t see any real action that Democrats in Congress could take. Chuck Schumer talking about hypocrisy doesn’t count….
Starbucks Optional Diversity Training Empowers People like Roseanne
By making yesterday’s diversity training optional, Starbucks revealed top management indecision about its own principles and how to treat customers. Do you think Roseanne would attend diversity training, or skip it Who needs it more And let’s be very clear diversity training is not “sensitivity” training; it’s competency training. Your…
Starbucks: Dont Close the Stores, Close Corporate Headquarters
In the aftermath of the racist incident in a Philadelphia Starbucks store, the company is going to close 8,000 Starbucks stores on May 29th for hastily prepared diversity training. It’s a mistake. If there was a problem with the temperature of the milk used to put in coffee, it would…
We White People Need to Own This
We will be deluged by Martin Luther King articles and columns today. Some will be excellent, like the one Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote. But most will be saccharine sweet and not say what needs to be said. Fifty years after Martin Luther King was killed, our society is still white…
Take a Knee or Lift a Rifle. What's More Respectful of American Heritage
Last week we had a popular story about a stupid diversity trick done at a Hyatt* event that involved Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner. A Hyatt diversity “expert” poured chocolate syrup into a glass of milk and as a demonstration that diversity is at the bottom, stirred the milk and chocolate…
Gun Control Won't Happen Because of Profit-driven Racism
Students from the Florida high school where 17 people were shot to death are all over the news today, but history tells us that the public reaction to the most recent massacre will go away in a few weeks. This is why the NRA keeps quiet. The Parkview massacre is…
The Chief of Staff Needs to Get Off His Privileged Racist Ass and Do Some Homework
There have been many disturbing days over the past year. I found yesterday to be particularly troubling. Chief of Staff John Kelly called people who had not already signed up for DACA to be “too lazy to get off their asses.” Our journalist, Kaitlyn D’Onofrio, wrote a very good story…
Taking Credit for Record Low Black Unemployment Rates is Racist
Donald Trump taking credit for record-low unemployment rates is racist. The economic recovery is proceeding along the same pace it has been since former President Barack Obama was in office, and Black unemployment is following the same pattern. Put a straight edge across either unemployment or the economy and you…