IMPORTANT READS

POLITICS--Democrats in the House of Representatives say they plan to hold a series of hearings about climate change over two days at the beginning of next year. The announcement comes from the ranking members of House committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, and Science, Space, and Technology. 

MY TURN-We all know that having conversations with conservatives is an exercise in futility.

MY TURN-Admit it, every time you see a truck with a Confederate flag or a trump bumper sticker, you wonder how these people tie their shoes in the morning without help.

VIEW FROM HERE-As with any other nation, the making of America has been about the amalgamation of innumerable social beliefs and practices from somewhere else.

PLANET POLITICS--When it comes to planetary carnage, Trump (Amerika’s president) is facing strong competition.

GUEST WORDS--For five decades, conservatives have claimed the moral high ground in judicial matters, claiming that they are simply interpreting the Constitution as it was written by our Founding Fathers — what they call an originalist approach.

VIEW FROM HERE--During a recent event in Houston, President Trump said: "You know, they have a word-it's sort of became old-fashioned-it's called a nationalist.

WHAT ABOUT THE SOLDIERS?-The United States military is actively fighting in seven Muslim-majority countries; and no one cares.

GUEST WORDS--Newly elected U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez celebrates her victory at La Boom night club in Queens, New York, on November 6th, 2018.

POLITICS--We're in the final hours of the 2018 mid-term elections, and there's more than enough information out there to keep you busy until the polls actually close Tuesday night.

GUEST WORDS--Robert Bowers, the alleged Pittsburgh synagogue killer, had an online life like many thousands of anti-Semitic Americans.

CORRUPTION WATCH-Allowing people to vote for candidates and for California propositions may violate our inalienable rights including Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. When voting trashes inalienable rights, doesn’t voting become illegitimate? 

VIEW FROM HERE-James Lawson, a leading theoretician of nonviolence within the Civil Rights Movement, was instrumental in helping to develop the strategy for Freedom Riders in 1961.

CORRUPTION WATCH-The Supreme Court opinion forbidding shouting “fire” in a crowded theater should morally apply to the hatred and violence Donald Trump is fomenting in America. The pertinent passage from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ opinion reads: 

VIEW FROM HERE--During a recent event in Houston, President Trump said: "You know, they have a word-it's sort of became old-fashioned-it's called a nationalist.

MY TURN-I particularly like this image as it accommodates both the blind following that the conservatives/Republicans are known for – and -- it is a picture of what the conservatives want as the “perfect” American: white and light hair color. If this sounds familiar, reference pre-World War Germany and the actions that they took with ethnic cleansing.

PERSPECTIVE--Three years ago, Dylann Roof murdered nine people in the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina and renewed a long-running debate about the meaning of the Confederate battle flag.

LEANING RIGHT-The sharp uptick in public shaming over the past several years, and specifically since the 2016 election, has sparked a heated discussion about whether the perceived righteousness of the practice overshadows possible damage and likely fallout.

WHAT TO EXPECT--To get a better idea of how and when consumers plan to shop this holiday season and on Cyber Week, BlackFriday.com surveyed over 1,500 Americans to find out the biggest trends.

VIEW FROM HERE-Let's begin with the obvious. The president only truly values American citizenship.

MIDDLE EAST POLITICS- I maintain that regardless of the political, strategic, demographic, and regional vicissitudes, the two-state option remains the only viably sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the one-state solution is simply a non-starter.