In addition to an impeachment of the current occupant of the White House, Democrats now in control of the Congress will be expected to hold impeachment hearings for other members of the regime and possibly even members of the Supreme Court.

While such hearings are understandable and might be richly deserved, they might prove a disservice to the nation and a serious political mistake for Democrats. They would play into the narrative pushed by the current occupant of the White House, Republicans and their flunkies in the media that Democrats have no agenda other than to be opposed to the current occupant of the White House.

If the new Democratic controlled Congress wishes to adopt a Congressional resolution  expressing their contempt and embarrassment to the people of America and the world for the actions of the current regime over the last two years such a resolution would be admirable and statesmanlike.

If in the resolution they detail and denounce the crimes against humanity and crimes against the peace committed by the current regime and declare those responsible for such crimes as international criminals subject to trial by an international tribunal it too would be commendable and statesmanlike.

But beyond adopting such a resolution the entire focus of the New Congress should be passing legislation to undue all the pain, misery and evilness enacted by the regime and its enablers in the previous Congress.

Legislation directed at making housing more affordable for Americans regardless of age or where they live should be among the first order of business for the new Congress. Legislation to ensure Americans regardless of income and status have access to quality, affordable healthcare.

People in what is supposed to be the wealthiest most prosperous nation in the world should not be compelled to defer or deny their healthcare needs due to cost. For such to occur is nothing short of being an abomination. A stain on the soul of the nation.

The new Congress should burn the night oil seeking ways to lower costs of food, clothing and other essentials. If Congress needs to raise taxes, and raise them significantly, on individuals who own five plus houses, ten plus cars and have nothing better to do than show off their obscene wealth, then the new Congress needs to do the right thing and raise taxes.

If it needs to raise taxes and raise them significantly on corporations which prevents their executives from getting multimillion dollars bonuses on top of multimillion dollars salaries, so be it, raise those taxes.

Get out of the DC Bubble and hold meetings where the real people live. Real people whose sons and daughters are sent to fight in wars. Who work nine to five and then a second and third job just to keep a roof over their heads. Who pay their own food bills and fill up the cars they drive.

Remind the people and especially yourself that it is the people’s government, the residents of Main Street. Not the government of Big Tech and inhabitants of Silicon Valley.

Pass legislation that makes living in America affordable and desirable. Send it to the White House and see if the current occupant of the White House vetoes it. He might just surprise you.

Among other things he is a very transactional guy and if he thinks it might win favor with Democrats to stay out of jail you can bet your last bottom dollar that you won’t hear him holler. At the same time, he can be counted on to criticize the former Republican majority for not passing such measures.

The current occupant of the White House and Republican strategists are counting on a new Democratic controlled Congress to waste time and capital trying to litigate the last two years and holding impeachment hearings.

Will it make a difference to the average person if the current occupant is impeached a third, fourth or tenth time? It will not change history. He is destined to go down as the worst person to reside in the White House. It will not even be a contest.

Not just the worst, but the most incompetent, immoral, emotionally, mentally and intellectually challenged person to reside in the White House.

He would be ecstatic with the attention he would receive from another impeachment trial. It would play into his narrative that the Democrats only goal is to get him. However, Democrats should stay so busy passing an affordability agenda that no one sees or hears his name. It would drive him even more batty than he currently is not to be the center of the universe.

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

A cardinal tenet of Christianity is that it is imperative for salvation to forgive those that trespass against us. It is one of the more challenging tenets of Christian faith.

For some Christians to address that challenge they believe it is best they forget so they can forgive, forgive and forget. If one forgets the transgression that was directed at them, forgiveness is easy since they don’t recall being transgressed against.

We may want our hearts as required by Christian faith to be righteous. However, there are certain things that cannot and should not ever be forgotten. Forgiven yes but forgotten never. To forget in itself would be a sin. To forget those who suffered and died for no reason other than their skin was darker than blue is a sin.

Sunday morning September 15th started out as just another typical Sunday morning. People throughout the city of Birmingham, Alabama, like places across the US were either at Sunday morning service, traveling to service or preparing themselves to head to their place of worship.

As for 11-year-old Carol Denise McNair, and 14-year-old Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Dionne Wesley and Carole Robertson they were already at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. They along with 200 members of the church had attended Sunday school classes prior to the start of the 11 am morning service.

It would be a similar scene in churches throughout the US. Sunday school classes followed by the main church service at 11 am. Attendees to the Sunday school classes would be grouped by age and a teacher would be assigned to lead a class in instruction about the Bible and tenets and practices of Christianity.

Sunday school classes had ended and Carol Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Dionne Wesley and Carole Rosamond Robertson who were youth choir members were busy putting on their choir robes and preparing themselves for the morning church service. The youth choir would lead the church in song for one of the musical presentations at the 11 am service.

It was Youth Day at the church. There was an element of joy and excitement in the air.

Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole talked while putting on their robes. They prepared themselves for the morning service in the church basement ladies’ bathroom.

Like other typical girls, 11 and 14 years of age, they talked about their regular school teachers and classmates. Public schools had been in session just a few days in Birmingham after the summer recession.

The girls busied themselves discussing their new teachers, new and old classmates as well as the subjects they were taking. Eleven-year-old Denise had just started the 5th grade. Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole had just started junior high and were in the seventh grade. While talking Addie Mae helped Carol tie her robe’s dress sash.

Typical girls their age, they talked about the latest fashion. What was in and what was now out of style.

They talked about shows on television. They talked about the latest movies in theaters.

They spoke about the latest songs that were topping the music pop record charts. They talked about what was happening in their lives at that time.

They also spoke about the future. Like girls typical their age they share their dreams, hopes and plans for the future. The future belonged to Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole.

It was a typical September Sunday morning in America. Then just like that it wasn’t.

At 10:22 am a massive explosion ripped through the church. The blast destroyed the church’s rear wall.

The explosion was so violent that it blew a passing motorist out of his automobile. It destroyed automobiles parked on the street outside the church.

Properties located more than two blocks from the church had their windows blown out. Bricks and mortar from the church was sprayed everywhere.

The blast caved in the church’s interior walls and destroyed all but one of the church’s stained glass windows. The only stained glass window left in tack depicted Jesus leading a group of children.

It demolished the basement ladies’ bathroom. The bathroom where Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole were preparing for the 11 am church service.

The explosion resulted in 22 injuries. The bodies of Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole were found beneath the rubble created by the blast.

Like a thief in the night, the explosion stole the future of Carol Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Dionne Wesley and Carole Rosamond Robertson. They would not give their musical rendition later that day at the 11 am church service. There would be no 11 am church service.

Carol would not be given the chance to graduate from fifth grade to sixth grade. She would not be given the opportunity to eventually attend junior high with Addie Mae, Cynthis and Carole.

Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole would not have the opportunity to attend their high school prom. To join with others in celebration upon their graduation from high school.

Years later, they would not have the opportunity to recollect exactly where they were when they learned that John F. Kennedy, the President of the US had been assassinated. Where they were and what they were doing when the news came over the radio and television that Malcolm X had been killed. That the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been murder.

To reminisce where they were when they learned that Robert Kennedy had been shot. What they were doing when the planes went into the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11.

Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole would not get the chance to listen and dance to the Four Tops’ “Reach Out I’ll Be There”, “Baby I Need Your Loving”, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)”, “Still Waters Run Deep” and “It’s the Same Old Song”.

They would not get to hear the Temptations’ “Beauty is Only Skin Deep”, “My Girl” and “Ain’t too Proud to Beg”.

They would miss out on the opportunity to hear the Supremes sing “Where Did Our Love Go”, “Stop! in the Name of Love”, and “Love is Like an Itching in My Heart”. They would not get to hear Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell duet “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “If This World Were Mine.”

Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole would not get the chance to watch The Beverly Hillbillies, I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, and The Flip Wilson Show.

They would be denied the opportunity to experience the anticipation, excitement and joy of opening college acceptance letters. Of attending college and graduating.

Denied the opportunity after graduation to embark on careers. Perhaps becoming teachers, college professors, lawyers, doctors, nurses, scientists, business owners, council members, state legislators, mayors and members of Congress. Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole would not be given that opportunity.

Carol was a friend and classmate of Condoleezza Rice. Condoleezza Rice went on to become the first female Black US Secretary of State and the first woman to serve as National Security Advisor.

Perhaps, Carol would have become an aide to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Then again, maybe Condoleezza Rice might have been an aide to Secretary of State Carol Denise McNair.

Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole were not given the opportunity to be bridesmaids in the weddings of family and friends. They would not be given the chance to date and marry becoming brides themselves.

They would not be given a chance to experience the wonder, magic and joy of motherhood. They would not have the opportunity to see their children attend kindergarten, graduate high school, college and have successful careers of their own.

To see their children have children making them grandmothers. Their children’s children make them great grandmothers.

Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole would not be there to take care of elderly parents and family. They would not be there to assist their grandparents and eventually their parents take their final breaths prior to transitioning to sit at the foot of Jesus.

They would not be there to celebrate the joy and comfort the sadness of other family members and friends during good times and tough times. Friends that they may have known from childhood, college or career. Carol, Addie Mae, Cynthia and Carole would be denied all of that.

They would be denied being able to see Roots, Soul Train, Amen, 227, Laverne & Shirley, Love Boat, The Cosby Show, Dallas, Dynasty, Good Times, Hills Street Blues, Sanford and Son and The Jefferson. They would not get to see Martin, Law and Order, ER, In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, 60 Minutes, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Donnie Simpson’s Video Soul, Bobby Jones Gospel, BET Gospel and West Wing.

They would not get to watch The Wire, Sex in the City, Suits, House of Cards, Power, Game of Thrones, Greenleaf, Sistas and Queen Sugar. They would be denied the opportunity to see Shameless, Red Shoe Diaries, The Handmaid’s Tale, Harlem, Being Mary Jane, And Just LIke That, Godfather of Harlem, Bel Air and Run The World.

They would not hear Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”, Luther Vandross with the group Change singing “The Glow of Love”, Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Isaac Hayes, Patti LaBell, Michael and Janet Jackson, The Jackson Five, Sounds of Blackness, Beyonce and so much more, so much more.

They would not get a chance to experience the profound joy of seeing President-elect Barack Obama raise his hand and take the oath of office becoming the first Black President of the US.

To see Kamala Harris become the first Black and woman to become Vice President of the US. Of seeing Venus, Serena and Coco. Joining with family and friends doing the Boogaloo, Robot, Worm, Cabbage Patch, Running Man, Harlem Shake and Electric Slide.

The opportunity to see and experience all of that and so much more was stolen from Carol Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Dionne Wesley and Carole Rosamond Robertson.

The explosion that stole the future of Carol Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Dionne Wesley and Carole Rosamond Robertson was the result of no less than 15 sticks of dynamite being placed beneath the stairs of one of the 16th Street Baptist Church’s entrances. Immediately, church members and others knew exactly what had happened.

The terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church was the third bombing in 11 days in Birmingham after a federal court order mandated the desegregation of Alabama’s school system.

The church had been targeted because many of the civil rights protest marches that took place in the 1960s began at the steps of that church. It had long been a significant religious center for the city’s Black population and a routine meeting place for civil rights activities.

The horrific church bombing was viewed by many in the US and throughout the world as not just an attack on Black people but the very body of Jesus itself. Roughly 2000 years earlier while Jesus was on the cross a Roman soldier took a spear and thrusted it into the body of Jesus.

Now roughly two thousand years later no less than 15 sticks of dynamite had been used to once again attack the body of Jesus.

But why are we recalling this incident which happened so very long ago? Isn’t it time to move forward to stop looking back at the past. Isn’t it time to turn the page?

Are we too busy looking behind us that we are unable to see and enjoy today and tomorrow? Can we just forget about the past?

The answer is an explicit and emphatic “No!” Yesterday is so very much who and what we are today. The past is today and today is so much the past.

In so many ways we never left the past. The same attitudes and forces of bigotry, discrimination, intolerance, racism, hate and evil never vanished. They remain just as alive, just as ugly and vicious as that fateful September 15th Sunday morning.

Those who have such attitudes might not march around as cowards hiding behind and covering their heads and faces with soiled white sheets. Instead like cowards they hid behind keyboards and keypads emitting their insanity, ignorance, racism and evilness.

Just as sadly and unfortunately, there remain so many people in the US who are unable or just refuse to see in the faces of Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Robertson their child, their grandchild or great grandchild. Their inability and/or refusal makes them just as indirectly compliant today as so many others had been on that September 15th Sunday morning that they might as well had planted the dynamite under the stairs of the church themselves.

It is important for Black people to remember their history and teach their children and their children’s children their history. That the history is passed down from one generation to the next.

Such an act is not about seeking revenge or retribution. It is not about the continuation of hate, inhumanity and evil. But it is about making sure that such inhumanity and evil never ever happens again to them or anyone else.

If Carol Denise McNair who was born on November 17th had lived she would have been 73.

Addie Mae Collins who was born April 18th, Cynthia Dionne Wesley who was born April 30th and Carole Rosamond Robertson who was born April 24th would be 77.

Carol Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Rosamond Robertson lived. Their lives, like all lives, were sacred. They were like all children, regardless of race, gender, country of birth, religion, creed, languages they speak, children of God.

To that end, we remember and will not forget Carol Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley and Carole Rosamond Robertson.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

What many have viewed as chaos may in fact be a well-orchestrated strategy to confuse, frustrate, deceive and exhaust the American people and the media into submission. There may be an element of method to the chaos and the madness.

Immediately upon taking office the regime declared war on the federal bureaucracy and the American people. In a blitzkrieg widespread assault, the regime bombarded the public and the media in what appeared to be nonstop actions. It attacked broad sectors of the American government and nongovernmental institutions.

The attack included countless executive orders, firings, dismantling of programs, abandonment of long-standing policies and an avalanche of lawsuits against nongovernmental institutions.

There appeared to be no rhyme or reason behind the actions beyond revenge and retaliation. The regime did not attempt to hide those efforts. It was bold and unapologetic with its revenge and retaliation. However, there was more to its purpose than just revenge and retaliation.

As for its lawsuits against various longstanding nongovernmental institutions, the regime attempted to convey outrage and concern that those nongovernmental institutions were engaged in injustices that demanded federal governmental intervention. It was just a smokescreen.

The regime wanted to intimidate and silence institutions. Institutions believed if left alone might challenge the unlawful actions of the regime.

It seemed to be omnipresent, nonstop in pursuit of liberty, justice and the American way. It impressed many, it frightened others and fooled even more.

The approach being used was a much larger scale version of the DOGE’s firing and dismantling of the federal bureaucracy. A buckshot approach. It was using a sledgehammer when a laser scalpel of a surgeon was needed.

There were many that saw the issuing of countless executive orders and the reports of the disbanding of programs and repeal of various policies and the adoptions of new policies that the regime was firmly in charge. Finally, they surmised, the government is being led by a person, an extremely successful businessperson, who knows exactly what he is doing.

It was the most effective and efficient federal administration in their memory. They were proud to convey to others how the regime in just a matter of days had done more for the American people than all the recent administrations had done combined over the years.

Just as quickly as the executive orders were promulgated judges throughout the US were forced to render rulings overturning the executive orders. However, it did not stop the regime from issuing additional executive orders and/or plowing ahead with its previous issued executive orders in contempt and defiance of the court rulings.

The court challenges to the executive orders and the regime’s lawsuits that were dismissed led many, especially opponents of the regime, to proclaim not only that the regime was incompetent and evil but also drowning in chaos. With chaos and confusion everywhere, they viewed the head  of the regime as totally unsuited and ill-tempered to being in the Oval Office.

The regime’s greatest success in promoting its government by chaos has been in its handling of the media. The regime flooded the zone with its numerous executive orders and pronouncements. Far more it seems than the media could keep up with.

Unable to track and report on all the actions of the regime, the media basically cherry-picked a small number that seemed most fascinating and intriguing.

Exhibit One: Epstein. The media used a lot of ink and spent a lot of time reporting on an issue which a year later no one is talking about. It was replaced by the US and Israeli War on Iran.

Then there is the White House Ballroom, DC Arch, Canada as the 51st state, Greenland as a territory of the US, John F. Kennedy Center Performing Arts Center renovations, and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. None of those issues addressed the affordability concerns that the average American citizen has with the increasing prices of food and other essentials.

If anything, it has only made things worse for the average American family as highlighted by the rising cost of oil resulting from the regime’s unpopular war on Iran. However, it has not stopped the media from focusing considerable attention on distracting issues.

Unfortunately for Americans while the media has followed and reported on glitzy pieces, the regime and its allies have gone into overdrive buying and selling America. The regime has basically engaged in full scale looting and robbery in broad daylight. A robbery and looting at the expense of the nation and its people.

In the end all the regime’s activity, its executive orders, lawsuits, policy changes and pronouncements have done is to confuse, frustrate, distract and exhaust the public into tuning out and turning off.

In the meantime, the regime and its allies are using the government to make money hand over fist. It has been clever in using what some view as a government in chaos while it plows ahead in its unholy campaign of robbing the public coffers bare.

The phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” has been substituted by “government of the regime, by the regime, for the regime” with its clever use of perceived chaos.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

There were many Americans who voted in the November 2024 election who voted not for someone but against someone. Despite one candidate being heads and shoulders over the other, far more qualified to be the leader of the country, many voted against that candidate for no other reason than the person’s race and gender.

Who voted against the candidate born into humble surroundings but nevertheless worked and excelled while following a moral compass. The other candidate, an emotionally, intellectually and mentally challenged individual, knew of  no cesspool that he was not willing to swim.

How did that turnout as you dig deeper and deeper into your wallets and pocketbooks to purchase food and clothes for yourself and family? Do you still have that satisfaction that you had election night when you fill up your car to head to work? Were you still delighted that the other candidate lost when you learned your son or daughter, sister or brother and close friends lost their federal jobs for no legitimate reason?

Democrats, Independents and even some Republicans are looking forward to the midterm elections in November. Looking to right the ship and save it from completely sinking.

Some are actually overjoyed that what they perceive as the dark night in America will soon be replaced by a new morning of sanity. That with a new Congress, a responsible Congress, the ills of the nation, the insensitive, inhumane, childish policies of the immoral regime would be halted and reversed.

How wonderful that would be if that was the case. But unfortunately, elections have consequences. So much of the policy as well as the attitudes and tone of the current regime will not and cannot be reversed by a new Congress nor even a new administration. Elections have consequences and what the current regime has done will remain in place for many years, perhaps decades after its slithers from power.

It might take decades if not longer for people throughout the world who once looked at the US admirably and with affection to see the US in a similar light after the last two years. To once again view the US as that shining city on the hill where freedom, justice and equality shined supreme and once served as a beckon of hope and inspiration.

Is that how people who sought political asylum, and those who were legally working through the maze of the US citizenship process still feel about the US after finding themselves deported to some country for which they never lived nor speak its language?

Is that how people in countries that one believed the US a friend and reliable ally feel about the US when the current regime goes out of its way to demean, insult and basically declare war on their country?

The current regime has done more in two years to destroy the US’ image of being a responsible, stable and progressive nation than anything the Chinese, Russians or others could have done in their propaganda campaigns against the US. The current regime with its childish, irrational and playground mentality has forced governments and their people to look at China as the responsible adult in the room.

As children and elderly people throughout the world die from starvation and diseases it will not be lost by many nor forgiven that vital humanitarian aid that both Republican and Democratic administrations had provided over the years was one of the first of many evil actions of the current regime.

Those who survive will not be singing America the Beautiful. They will not see a nation committed to and propelled by goodness but greed. Faith and friendship but fearmongering. Facts but fear. Hope but hate. Righteousness but racism. Mercy but maliciousness. Christianity but cruelty. Love of all mankind but loathing of all who are viewed as other.

Whereas Russia, North Korea and Iran once had the designation of being pariah nations, the current regime through its illegal, immoral, inhumane actions and conduct now own that designation of pariah nation throughout the world. It will keep that designation in many people’s minds throughout the world for a long time after the current regime and its enablers have been swept from the halls of power.

Elections do have consequences and Americans and people throughout the world have seen in just a blink of an eye just how dangerous, deadly and demonic such consequences can be. Yes, elections do have consequences as a very wise man said.

By the way, that very wise man was also a good, moral, righteous man who also served as president of the US. He brought an audacity of hope not just to America but the world. History will proclaim him one of the greatest US presidents ever. It will also highlight him as a man of faith, charity and mercy. His name, President Barack Obama, the 44th President of the US.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

In 2024 Republicans and their ringmaster were utterly effective in having a significant number of Americans believe the fairy tale of open borders and the hordes of brown people invading, raping, robbing and stealing. They were also quite effective in having voters believe that there was a furtive plot engineered by individuals who were transgender to subjugate the nation, in particular the children of the nation, to become transgender.

Those two messages Republicans promoted successfully as well as their perennial boogeymen message, people of color and wayward women, to take control of the executive and legislative branches of the federal government.

So I was left to wonder what boogeyman or boogeymen would be taken from the Republican soiled bag of tricks, dusted off and sprayed on an unsuspecting public.

For a while I thought that the Pied Piper and his Republican gang of flunkies and chicken heads were going to try and present the image of an America ravaged by crime attributed to Democratic politicians, policies and their supporters.

However, Republicans found it increasingly hard to raise the specter of rampant crime when the current regime in Washington is the most corrupt in the history of the nation. The current occupant of the White House declared his regime would drain the swamp. In a masterful magical feat, the White House and Mar-a-Lago became the swamp.

It became hard for Republicans, their influencers, podcasters, lackeys and stooges to point a finger at criminal activity while the administration itself was dogged by the Epstein files controversy, mounting ethics questions, conflicts of interest and accusations that public office was being used for private financial benefit.

However, I no longer have to wonder what message Republicans and their legion will use. Republican operatives, podcasters, influencers, and other sycophants are already in overdrive screaming that the Democratic Party is now in control by Democratic Socialists. Democratic Socialists with emphasis on Socialists and their comrades Communists whose goal is to make America a replica of the 1960s Soviet Union and Maoist China.

An America in which Republican mouthpieces maintain Democratic Socialists would outlaw private enterprise, nationalize big business and engineer widespread and radical redistribution of wealth. Or as Republicans are hysterically declaring Democratic Socialists aim to make the US one big, beautiful taxpayer funded welfare state in which welfare hot mamas drive down streets in Mercedes with nine and ten welfare babies hanging out car windows. I can picture the commercials now. I can also see a whole lot of gullible voters believing it.

Some weak-kneed Democratic leaders are so shaken that they are trying to push back and defeat candidates willing to wear the label of Democratic Socialist prominently and proudly.

I am not a candidate for anything nor am I into being labeled or pigeonholed. However, I would not run under the banner of a Democratic Socialist. Not out of fear but because I don’t know what if anything Democratic means.

But I would run proudly under the banner of Christian Socialist whose platform and tenets were based on the life and teachings of Jesus.

When the disciples suggested that Jesus tell the multitude to leave and go home to eat, Jesus countered and told the disciples to feed the people. They stated they only had five loaves and two fish. Jesus blessed the loaves and fish. It was distributed, and about 5,000 men, besides women and children, ate and were satisfied, with 12 baskets full of broken pieces left over.

I can picture Republican talking heads screaming “socialism, communism, welfare state.” I can see Elon Musk and the sons of the current occupant of the White House looking to see how they could make a profit from the loaves and fish even if it meant there might be those in the multitude who received nothing.

Following the teachings of Jesus my campaign theme would be love my brother and my sister regardless of their race, religion, creed, color, gender, age, origin of birth, language they spoke or sexual orientation.

A campaign unlike the CINOs (Christians in Name Only) for which diversity, equality and inclusion was not some alien evil, but a practice celebrated for its virtuousness. A campaign which sought a world where every man, woman and child could sit under their own fig tree and none need fear. A country where the stranger was treated with hospitality thereby entertaining angels without knowing it.

An America where its greatest, most endearing strength was reflected not in its weapons of mass destruction but its humanitarian treatment of all people equally and justly. An America whose most prized accomplishment was not the number of millionaires, billionaires and trillionaires it had but the number of poor people that it didn’t have.

If it sounds like socialism, I have no problem with it because it sure feels like Christianity, true Christianity to me.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

There were many Americans, we are talking millions of Americans, who when they first heard about the attempted assassination at Butler, Pennsylvania were left disappointed. These were patriotic, faith believing individuals who would never take to the streets in celebration like many would if the assassination had been successful.

They would find it personally repulsive even to acknowledge to themselves that they were gleefully exuberant if it had been successful. For many they would have felt shame for such happiness.

They clearly would have understood the reasons for the celebration. They never believed they would witness their country descend into the very depths of hell. They never believed they would be so betrayed by their government.

Nonetheless, they would be relieved and embarrassedly happy if the assassin had been successful.

In some ways, they are no different from the many Americans, we are talking millions of Americans, during the eight years when President Barack Obama served as Commander and Chief. Individuals who went as far as praying that ill would befall him and his presidency.

They hoped and some prayed that he would be unsuccessful in bringing the country out of the Great Recession. A recession which he inherited. Wishing that he would be unsuccessful just to be able to point fingers and say he was not qualified to be president. They didn’t care if other Americans suffered. In fact, they hoped other Americans would suffer proving their point of view was correct.

They hoped, some prayed, that President Obama would lead the nation into reckless foreign policy adventures in which American lives were lost. The more lives lost the greater their rejoice. It would provide them ammo to rise holy indignation criticizing his holding the title of president.

This is the state of the union.

There were many Americans, we are talking millions of Americans during the four years that President Joe Biden strolled the Oval Office who found delight in seeing the price of food and other goods rise due to inflation. The higher the prices the more discomfort and suffering that Americans would experience. Such pain and discomfort of other Americans served their political narratives.

They are not that much different than the many Americans, we are talking millions of Americans, today that hope the current regime’s war with Iran backfired. That the US suffered a huge humiliation. That the current regime ended up in another foreign military quagmire as the number of American soldiers’ deaths and oil prices rose.

Convinced that the current regime’s leadership is so incompetent, unholy and just plain evil, there are many Americans, we are taking millions of Americans, who now find themselves hoping that world leaders will openly mock and deride the current leadership. That people from other countries boycott visiting the US and purchasing US made products.

That American college and professional championship teams refuse to visit the White House as long as the current occupant resides there.

Hoping that the nation experiences some natural calamity and is unable to efficiently respond to tragedy because of the current regime’s funding cuts and other policy decisions.

This is the state of the union.

America has had problems in the past. In fact, it almost didn’t survive its civil war that occurred less than a hundred years after its founding.

Nevertheless, there were many, we are talking millions, who believed and were willing to make the nation a more perfect union. Who were willing to believe that as a people and a nation, we could and we would do better.

That America could indeed be a “shining city on a hill.” A place where American exceptionalism was on display. A nation among nations in which it served as a beacon of freedom, hope, and opportunity. “Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

A place which allowed dreamers to believe, and believers to dream.

For many Americans, millions of Americans, the US is no longer that place. Instead, it has become a miasma of hate and evil. A place where the enemy of the people are the people themselves. A place in which “In God We Trust” has been replaced by handguns and assault weapons, hateful and divisive rhetoric.

A place where distrust, alienation and anger is at an all-time high. A place where more people play the lottery than vote. Where the pursuit of the latest technological idol has replaced the American Dream.

The US celebrated its 250th anniversary. For many it was more like a wake than a celebration of life.

It is highly unlikely if the state of the union remains as it is that it will last another 25 years, perhaps not even two and a half more years.

If so, future historians and social scientists will be compelled to proclaim that America was not destroyed, not overrun or defeated from the outside. America died because too many Americans, millions of Americans, saw each other not as fellow Americans, but as the enemy.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

The refrain at one time was that the government was of the people, by the people, for the people. A more universally accepted refrain today is a government of special interests, by special interests, for special interests.

People are unhappy and have lost faith in the US Congress. They view it as an institution no longer working and committed to solving problems. Instead, it has become the problem, a major problem unto itself.

It once was held in high esteem by a wide swath of the nation. Members of Congress were held in awe and were respected.

Today the view of the Congress shared by those on the right, left and in the middle is that of a horror house of chambers where several hundred Moes, Larrys and Curlys engage in continuous uninspiring tragicomedies.

They pretend publicly to their constituents to have disdain and contempt for members of the opposite parties. However, behind closed doors in privilege only rooms and venues, they pat each other’s backs and butts while filling their pockets and pocketbooks with money from their real and only constituents, the special interests.

Congress clearly works effectively and efficiently for the special interests. But not the people.

Then there is the US Supreme Court. Of the many disturbing and outrageous decisions adopted by the Roberts, Thomas, Alito Court, perhaps the most egregious and appalling was unconditional and blanket immunity to a sitting president.

A sitting president of the US could literally stroll down Fifth Avenue in New York City and pull out a gun and kill someone. As president he or she could not be prosecuted.

The Roberts,Thomas, Alito Court with their decision had codified what many already knew: Justice was not blind, objective, impartial or unbiased.

One day a majority of American voters might elect a man or woman to serve as president. That person while running for the office will present themselves one way to voters. However, once in office they push certain policies and practices contrary to what those voters believed.

For example, let’s say the candidate promised on day one of taking office to reduce inflationary prices. He or she promised not to engage in foreign wars in which there was little if any threat to American sovereignty.

After taking office the president did contrary to what he or she ran on. The voters would have been duped. They would also be stuck with their vote for four years. Such an example may seem improbable but nevertheless not impossible.

Continuing the hypothetical, let’s say such a president had a due nothing, invisible Congress afraid and/or unwilling to rein in the president. At the same time, still continuing the hypothetical, the president has a Supreme Court whose interest is not to check a president’s unconditional actions and policies. A president would be basically free to run wild.

An improbable scenario, you might say. But not impossible. Not sure if the people of the nation want to live through such a hypothetical situation.

More important even without the twilight zone hypothetical, it is clear representative democracy is not working for the American people.

Perhaps, it is time for something different. How about direct democracy through government by referendum? Let the people directly without filters and middlemen directly make policy.

A Constitutional Convention would be required. At the Constitutional Convention, the people would create a new constitution in which the Congress and the Supreme Court would both be abolished. It would also severely restrict the actions of a president leaving him or her merely a manager of the Executive Branch.  A president would be elected by a majority of the voters. The Electoral College would be abolished –

Would such a form of government be perfect? No, no institution created by man is going to be perfect. However, it should be far superior to what currently exists. One thing it would do would be to remove the hidden hand of special interest from controlling the government.

It would remove the political chaos and circus acted out by Republicans and Democrats as if they were two separate entities. It should significantly eliminate issues which should never have been made political. Issues which suffocate the air and distract from real concerns not being addressed.

As for the crazies, cultists, fanatics, conspiracy wackos and other loonies of the far extremes they would still exist. However, their power to poison governmental processes would be limited to their rants on the internet and their shouts into the heavens.

It should put out of business the merchants of hate, division, disinformation and alienation who use broadcasts and the internet to disseminate their poison like drug pushers to the naive and gullible.

In 1776, when the nation was founded, representative democracy was a necessity. In 2026 due to the advances in technology and communications direct referendum by voters is possible and more prudent. After 250 years perhaps it is time for a change.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

Many Americans and others have been compelled especially over the last year and a half to utter in faith and hope that the ugly cloud over America will soon be gone. That it moves out to sea to be seen no more.

That the nation which they were once proud and believed special among nations would free itself of the curse that afflicted and diseased its body and soul. A curse so unrelenting and destructive that they no longer recognized the country of their innocence.

No longer could feel the pride that they once had when they stood with others and saluted the flag and proclaimed their allegiance. Forced to wonder if it was all just some bizarre lie. “No, Virginia, Jamal, Maria, Bill, like Santa it was all just make believe.”

Forced to see their country, a country that they loved and was proud of, become something which it never in their wildest imagination believed would ever become.

America was first among nations in liberty, freedom, justice. A nation of immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Poland, Italy and all over the world who came to America for a better life.  A  better life for their children and their children’s children.

They came to America without a single document.  Only the hope for a better life, a faith in their God and the clothes on their back.

They came because they heard America was a land of opportunities. A land where immigrants were welcome. Where they could get a new start, a new day.  So, they came.

Some experience trials and tribulations that would crush their spirits. That would break their hearts. Some were forced to return back to their country of origins. Others would die in America believing it had been a huge mistake to have come.

They were not expecting to be confronted with the harassment, prejudice, mistreatment and discrimination that they were forced to experience. Treatment directed at them as the most recent others. Mistreated and unwelcomed by previous others. America they would learn was not the promised land.

Others weathered the storms and will themselves through the trials and tribulations certain “this too would pass.” They continue forward one day at a time. If not for themselves than their children and their children’s children.

In time, their children and their children’s children would no longer view themselves as merely Irish, Italian, German, Polish, Swedes but American. They would fight its wars all in the name of democracy, freedom, justice, liberty and what was right and just.

Those earlier Americans, if they saw the nation today, would they see the America for which they believe in, felt proud of and were willing to give their life for? Had it all been in vain?

If America survives and there is no guarantee that it will, there will be many who will demand accountability and retribution.  They will want to hold those they believe responsible for America’s current troubled, unhealthy condition. It will be understandable.

They may see it also necessary as a deterrent to prevent the nation from ever again sinking into the abyss of chaos and insanity.

Many will urge federal lawmakers to push for investigations, hearings and tribunals. They will seek and demand punishment. It clearly will be understood. However, it might not be the most useful course of action.

Instead of a new Congress, hopefully far more responsible Congress will use all its energy, time and resources to legislatively undue all of the regulations, policies and directives enacted by the current regime that helped to make America a pariah nation.

Hopefully put all its efforts into reversing the damage and evil unleashed on America and the world in the last year and a half. Not waste energy on impeachments. Let the current regime remain in place, but render it basically a eunuch.

A new Congress, more responsible however, will need the people of the nation to insist and safeguard its representative democratic form of government will never again end up in the outhouse. They will need to vote. They will need to be more selective in how they elect to represent them. They will also need to be far more attentive and involved in their government.

From this dark, storming night in America there may be a new morning, a new day. The evil regime will have breathed its last unholy breath.

Unfortunately, however much of the destruction, pain, suffering, embarrassment, alienation, disappointment experienced by Americans and others will remain for a long time perhaps forever.

Unfortunately also, many inside the nation and outside may never be able to think of America as a land of hope and  goodwill. Of great promise and opportunity. Of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

Loser: The American People

Americans were unhappy prior to the Israeli-US War on Iran. They had witnessed unbelievable chaos, confusion, distrust, alienation and divisiveness within the nation. Still, they viewed their nation as a friendly nation and not a bully.

After the war started, sitting in their cars paying almost double for gas to go shopping for significantly increased groceries did not make them any happier. Americans’ confidence in their government, other institutions, and the economy is at an all-time low. For many Americans they look around and no longer see the nation of their youth.

Winner: The Current Occupant of the Oval Office

The current occupant of the Oval Office has no principals. No beliefs, dogma, tenets nor allegiances beyond his self-preservation and well-being. He does have an insatiable desire for attention. The greater the attention, the happier he is. The Israeli-US War on Iran placed him front and center on the world stage. He gave the performance for the ages, at least in his mind.

Loser: The Epstein Files

It took a war, the Israeli-US War on Iran, to remove the Epstein Files as front-page news. The war did what the Department of Juveniles was unable to do. Whatever hope of justice the victims had is probably now just blowing in the wind.

Winner: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been unsuccessful in prodding earlier US presidents to attack Iran. However, the current occupant of the Oval Office decided that the first duty of the American government is to protect the citizens of Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is not interested in anything less than the complete destruction of the nation of Iran. The only thing which might prevent all-out war is the price of oil reaching levels so high that American and other consumers finally tell Netanyahu ”enough is enough.”

Loser: State of Israel

At the close of the Second World War, people around the world were confronted with images, horrific and shocking images, of the dead bodies of Jews, six million of them. They had been systematically and barbarically murdered during what became known as the Holocaust. The images were unbelievable but unfortunately so very real. Images that showed the depths of the brutality, inhumanity, savagery, hatred and just pure evil that men and women were capable of doing to other men, women and children.

Those images and the ugly history behind the images, compelled governments and people around the world to justify the survivors of the Holocaust and Jews throughout the world have their own nation. To have a place in which they could sit under their own fig tree and not be afraid.

Fast forward roughly 80 years after the State of Israel was established. People throughout the world have been horrified and shocked at the images coming out of Gaza and Lebanon of men, women and children experiencing a present-day holocaust. Have those images as well as the Israeli and US War on Iran served to eradicate the support the State of Israel had been given unconditionally?

Winner: Iran

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. We have oil and you have needs. Iran was forced to take on Israel and the US. Two against one. Iran suffered damage but, in the end, not only did it remain standing it came out of the war stronger than before. David had once again beaten an evil two-headed Goliath. Many inside and outside of Iran are compelled to ask if Israel and the US have nuclear weapons, why shouldn’t Iran? Iranian government hardliners are now stronger and have increased their control of Iranian society.

Loser: The Moral Authority of the US

The current occupant of the Oval Office in one of his many late-night rants stated that if Iran did not surrender to the demands of Israel and the US that he was prepared to bomb Iran back to the Stone Age. Iran dismissed his paper tiger threats. In the end, billions of people and governments throughout the world saw that it was the moral authority of the US that sadly had been ushered back to the Stone Age. A moral authority which had taken decades to establish now wiped away overnight. It might take forever for the US to be viewed as having moral authority by nations and people throughout the world .

Winner: MAGA

The political philosophy of the MAGA movement is quite simple. There is none. It stands for nothing other than being opposed to everything. It feeds on chaos, confusion, division, contempt, pain and suffering of others. It is a movement made up of unhappy, angry people. Their satisfaction is spreading their misery to others.

The Israeli-US War on Iran with its chaos, confusion, destruction, pain, suffering and death was sweet music to the MAGA faithful.

Winner: Islamic and Arabic Militancy

The Israeli-US attacks in the Middle East have killed thousands of men, women and children. For each father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle and aunt killed conceivably there will be three, four, five or more who feel compelled, feel a duty to seek revenge. If nothing else, the Israeli-US attacks in the Middle East will serve to ensure that there will be a new generation of Islamic and Arab soldiers, warriors and martyrs.

Winner: China

Even before the Israeli-US War on Iran, the current Oval Office occupant’s obsession with trade wars, nations around the world began to see China as a more favorable and reliable trade partner than the US. They also see it as more stable and mature. The Israeli-US War on Iran has only served to cement those notions.

China, a once pariah nation, is now viewed as the reasonable, responsible adult in the room. As for the pariah nation designation, the US and Israel have replaced China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Winner: European Nations

Longtime European allies were caught off guard by the attack on Iran. They had not been consulted prior to the attack. Over the last year and a half the current occupant of the Oval Office berated and mocked longtime European allies of the US over tariffs and other issues. When the current occupant of the Oval Office realized his war was not turning out how he thought he reached out in desperation to longtime European allies. The same longtime European allies he had earlier mocked and berated. Longtime European allies decided to let motor mouth handle his problem all by himself.

Since the Second World War, European nations looked to and relied on the US for their security concerns. Distrustful of the US, European nations are now moving away and developing their own security arrangements. Europe will emerge stronger with greater solidarity, independence and confidence.

No Decision: Arab Nations

Arab nations closest in proximity to Iran have viewed Iran worryingly. The US did not confer with these nations prior to launching its attack with Israel against Iran. It also was not able to protect those nations from attacks from Iran. The war may compel Arab nations to rethink their strategic relationships.

It also remains to be seen if the citizens of those Arab nations are willing to support governments that sided with Israel and the US against a fellow Islamic and Arab nation.

No Decision: Democratic Members of Congress

Democratic Congressional members and candidates should be in a state of rapture unable to wait until their blue tsunami sweeps Republicans from control of the House of Representatives and the US Senate. But the Democrats being Democrats will probably find a way to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. Beyond being against the current occupant in the Oval Office what if anything do Democrats stand for?

No Decision: Republican Members of Congress

It would be understandable if Republican Congressional members and candidates would be out looking for boxes to move their belongings from their more spacious offices to those set aside for minority party members. But not so fast. They are highly successful in hoodwinking and bamboozling voters. In 2024, Republicans were able to convince enough voters that immigrants and transgender people were the number one threats to their life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Will Republicans invent a new mythical monster or monsters to feed voters and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.

I don’t know about you, but I can truly say I need a little break from all the winning. It has been overwhelming. It has been breathtaking.

I could use a break from the winning for a while. It has been lightning quick, non-stop winning on so many fronts. Out of fairness, perhaps we should allow the other guys to win some, just to make it competitive.

Let’s look at some of the many wins so far.

From day one before, he could warm up his desk seat, he single-handily brought the runaway inflation that he inherited from the previous administration completely under control. Like a masterful magician he waved his magic wand and the high price of eggs, bacon, bread, beer, coffee, gas and oil vanished into thin air.

Affordability was no longer some mysterious concept but a living reality for everyday American families.

Americans everywhere have seen unbelievable low prices on items never ever witnessed in years. Perhaps, ever. It has been nothing less than amazing and miraculous.

Prices continue to fall to the point it is just overwhelming. There is serious concern that with prices so low and continuing to fall Americans may become severely overweight.

Then there are the tariffs established by executive orders. Before the ink could dry, manufacturing plants relocated from other countries to the US. Thousands if not millions of jobs overnight flowed into the US. It has been nothing short of mind-blowing.

There would have been far more new plants and manufacturing jobs if the courts would not have interfered with the winning. But even with those courts interfering, manufacturing plants from Asian and other places began to relocate to the US. American workers, especially younger workers, are ecstatic and are rushing to fill the slots on assembly lines in those plants.

As one young man pointed out, “This is a dream come true. More than anything, being an influencer, rap artist or social media creator, I always wanted to work on an assembly line in a plant.”

The credit for this great win is due to the tariffs and the fantastic, unprecedented deals won by the current occupant of the Oval Office. Let no one be mistaken, only the current occupant of the Oval Office and no one else could have done it.

Countries for years probably going back to the early days of the nation’s founding have unfairly taken advantage of American presidents. Suckering them into terrible economic trade deals. But no longer.

New trade deals have been established within a wink of an eye. The current occupant of the Oval Office is a grand negotiator. A supreme deal maker.

The US is no longer a victim nation. The economic trade war has been won by America. It is just another in a barrelful of wins.

The US has gone from a place that foreign visitors were reluctant to travel to. Now it is the hottest place on the planet to visit. Everyone wants to visit the US.

There was a time foreigners questioned if it was safe to travel to the US. They were told it was too risky.

That ruthless, foreign street gangs and alternative, multi gender cabals had invaded the US spreading unbelievable terror across cities, towns and farm areas.

That is no longer the case. Bathrooms and bedrooms have been made safe again.

Federal troops and ICE are out there on the streets protecting lives and rights. Foreign visitors are flocking to the US in unprecedented numbers now.

Tourist centers, hotels and motels are now overbooked for the unforeseeable future. It has been incredible.

The US is so hot it is on fire. It has been a great win for everyone, not just the millionaires and the billionaires in the US. Everybody is winning.

People in other countries used to look at the US and Americans worryingly. Americans they felt were fat, ugly, uncouth and uncivilized. Not anymore.

The Canadians, Greenlanders, Mexicans, Nigerians, Cubans and people around the world have rediscovered America and Americans. They have nothing but love for the nation and its people. They now sing hosannas in praise of America and its people.

Until the current occupant of the Oval Office, American presidents were mocked and ridiculed by foreign leaders. They laugh behind their backs at them. No longer.

The current occupant is hailed and respected by foreign leaders everywhere. Jokes are no longer made. Foreign leaders are breaking down doors in an attempt to meet with the current occupant. Many have taken to dressing even speaking like him.

Then there was the war with Iran. It was a huge win for the US. Overnight the US was able to completely obliterate its nuclear weapons and its military capabilities.

Less than a year later the US returned just to ensure that Iran was not trying to piece together the destroyed pieces. Have to give them credit, the Iranians are an enterprising people.

Still, one would have thought Iran would have learned a lesson the first go around when they saw all their nuclear efforts setback to the stone age. But they didn’t.

The Iranians have since learned their lesson. It has been a painful lesson: Don’t mess with the US. It is not a paper tiger.

They were given 24 hours to surrender. It only took them a few minutes for them to bend their knees. Another great win for the US. World leaders including China, Russia and others were forced to conclude definitively the current leader of the US is not only not a buffoon but a military genius, perhaps one of the greatest in all history.

In recognition of how much we have been winning, the current occupant of the Oval Office is planning a new huge White House ballroom, an arch of success and a new garden project featuring all the founding fathers and others. During these great economic times this is exactly what the nation needs and wants.

We have been “winning bigly.” We have been winning so much it is tiring.

Staff Writer; Al Alatunji

Question or comment regarding this article? Feel free to send a message to: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com.