Staff Writer; Jamar Jackson

This brother has a passion for poetry and music. One may contact him at; JJackson@ThyBlackMan.com.

In response, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) asked on X, “(1) Is he right? (2) Why?”

OK, Senator, I’ll give this a shot.

If Maher is right, it’s because:

1. Each day’s news brings more evidence of widespread fraud in this country, bilking American taxpayers out of unfathomable amounts of their money. Independent journalist Nick Shirley exposed the fraudulent child care and medical transport services in Minnesota — created largely by Somali immigrants — and calculated it at more than $100 million. This fell on the heels of the $250 million “Feeding Our Futures” scam perpetrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we’re told that the financial fraud in that state could top $9 billion.

But those amounts are dwarfed by the fraud in California, where recent investigations have turned up $170 million in child care fraud and $3.5 billion in hospice fraud (in Los Angeles County alone.) Then there’s the $15 billion spent on “high-speed rail” — without even a single foot of track having been laid.

How about the fraud perpetrated on the American public with the “Russia collusion” hoax?

We see plenty of Fox News appearances, irate posts on X and even a smattering of congressional hearings. But where are the indictments, the arrests, the prosecutions? (The “Feeding Our Future” fraudsters have been indicted, but that fraud took place half a decade ago.) Republicans run the Justice Department; what are they doing?

2. The single most important issue to Americans is election integrity. This isn’t just a conservative voter issue, a Republican voter issue or a white voter issue. According to multiple polling outlets, a wide majority of Americans want voter ID as part of election security. Harvard CAPS/Harris puts the number at 81% of Americans, including 79% of independents and 70% of Democrats. Pew reports that 75% of Americans across all racial backgrounds want voter ID. Gallup puts the numbers even higher, with 84% of Americans overall wanting voter ID, including 98% of Republicans and 84% of independents. Eighty-three percent of those Gallup polled also want proof of American citizenship.

And yet somehow, a Republican-controlled Congress will not pass the SAVE America Act. Not cannot pass it, will not pass it.

3. In general, President Donald Trump is having to govern by executive order, because the Republican-controlled Congress appears to be doing very little. If Democrats had even the bare majorities Republicans have now, they’d be ramming their left-wing agenda items down our gullets so fast we’d be choking on them. But when Republicans get control of Congress, they act like a middle school student council given control of the mayor’s office for a day. Or highly paid court jesters.

4. Republicans voters also want an end to illegal immigration, the enforcement of our borders, and deportation of people here illegally. They do not want amnesty or government benefits for people who came here illegally. But instead of moving on the issues their voters care about, we have Republicans like Florida congresswoman Maria Salazar repackaging “amnesty” and calling it the “Dignity (“Dignitad”) Act.” She and Texas Republican congressman Brandon Gill are now in a war of words about it on X. Popular X accounts Matt Van Swol, Wall Street Mav and DataRepublican (among an increasing number of others) have called Salazar’s bluff (and that of her 19 Republican cosponsors) by reading the entire 261-page bill and explaining, with quotes and page numbers, how the “Dignity Act” is amnesty — and then some.

What’s worse is that we don’t really know how many people are living here illegally. We’re told it’s 7 million. Or maybe 10 million. But it’s probably much more. The Federation for American Immigration Reform put the number last year at 18.6 million. Amnesty means millions more people added to the voter rolls (and most won’t vote Republican, Rep. Salazar), millions more sponsoring family members to come in, and millions more struggling to get in themselves. As Ronald Reagan discovered when he signed an amnesty bill in 1986, “amnesty now and enforcement later” means “amnesty now and enforcement never.” Because it takes courage to enforce the law, and Republicans don’t have any, even when they’re in power.

5. Trump ran on improving the economy and no wars. Now there is war in Iran. Gas is over $4 a gallon. The stock market is down (a huge hit for people living on a fixed income and dependent on the performance of their pensions). The price of oil affects huge swaths of the economy. What’s the end game here? When do things get better?

I’m old enough to remember a free Iran, and I support the end of the mullahs’ reign there, the elimination of the threat of their having nuclear capability, and the liberation of the Iranian people. But it’s not among Americans’ top priorities, and the voters who elected Trump don’t see those priorities being addressed. Furthermore, at this writing, Iran and the United States are in a “ceasefire,” which Trump says presents the possibility of a resolution. But any resolution of this conflict that does not include the permanent removal of the mullahs from power will be a failure.

The midterms are seven months away, and a lot can happen in that time. But the Republican leadership in Congress has established a practice of dragging its feet, and there’s little reason to think they’ll suddenly change their modus operandi as the election gets closer.

They’d better. A loss at the midterms will be disastrous. We can expect a Democrat-controlled Congress to impeach Trump (and likely other members of his administration). They will not show the same deference to procedural niceties that Republicans profess. Instead, they’ll nuke the filibuster, pass amnesty, open the borders, defund federal law enforcement (including and especially Immigration and Customs Enforcement), reimpose censorship, renew their lawfare efforts, prosecute their political enemies and pack the Supreme Court. Which means you can kiss any judicial imposition of constitutional limits on government power bye-bye.

And that’s just for starters.

You guys better get off your rear ends and do what we sent you to Congress to do. And don’t bleat that Senate Majority Leader John Thune won’t let you. If he’s in the way, remove him and get the job done. Or lose in November.

There, Sen. Lee. Does that answer your questions?

Written by Laura Hollis

Official website; http://law.nd.edu/directory/laura-hollis/

Start with what the new budget does and does not do. It’s not a comprehensive fiscal plan. It covers only about one-third of federal spending, focusing heavily on discretionary choices and largely ignoring the autopilot spending that drives our long-term debt.

The headline item is defense spending. The administration proposes a jump of $445 billion to reach $1.5 trillion. That’s a 42% increase in one year, the largest since the Korean War, raising defense spending to roughly 4.4% of GDP.

This is not a onetime surge that will simply recede when things calm down in Iran. It’s an expansion of the spending base. Bureaucracies and procurement contracts do not shrink after a buildup. And procurement cycles, contracting and industrial capacity do not scale quickly. The Pentagon cannot efficiently absorb that kind of increase overnight.

So, whatever one thinks about our national security needs, this budget commits the country to trillions in additional cumulative spending layered atop existing obligations. The fiscal commitment is permanent even if the operational absorption is slow.

The rest of the proposed budget is largely cosmetic. The Trump administration calls for cutting roughly 10% from nondefense discretionary spending, but these are the same kinds of proposals that appear every year of Republican administrations and rarely survive Congress and the appropriations process. They are politically easy to announce, difficult to enact and — if they were to survive — insufficient to change the fiscal trajectory.

More importantly, this budget avoids the core problems. It proposes no meaningful reforms to Social Security or Medicare, the drivers of our debt. It offers no comprehensive tax plan. It does not present a coherent 10-year path for deficits or debt. It is, in effect, a partial spending request without any underlying fiscal architecture.

Republicans must choose. They cannot implement endless tax cuts, raise defense spending by 42% and also refuse to reform Social Security and Medicare. Something has to give. Cutting foreign aid, trimming waste or reducing immigration-related expenses won’t begin to close the gap in any meaningful way.

Democrats face the same reckoning. They cannot be the party of expanded entitlements, climate spending coupled with degrowth demands, student debt relief and the preservation of every program without pushing America further toward a fiscal disaster. Increasing taxes on the wealthy is not a fiscal plan. The arithmetic does not come close to closing a gap of this magnitude even under the most optimistic assumptions.

The presidential budget relies on overly optimistic assumptions of its own, the likes of which have characterized federal budgeting for decades. Economic growth projections of around 3% are treated as baseline despite a workforce that is barely growing and policy choices that actively constrain the labor supply. That would require sustained productivity growth at levels we have rarely achieved outside of exceptional periods. AI may well boost productivity, but assuming that it will deliver decadelong 3% growth is not serious budgeting.

This is not merely an accounting problem. When markets do not believe official growth projections, they immediately revise down their expectations for future tax revenues and therefore expect smaller future fiscal surpluses. Those revised expectations are reflected in bond prices and, ultimately, in the price level. Optimistic budget assumptions produce bad spreadsheets and can erode fiscal credibility in real time.

Meanwhile, the bill is already arriving. Interest costs have nearly tripled since 2001, and within a decade, they will consume nearly one-third of federal tax revenue. Within a few decades, interest could absorb closer to two-thirds of annual taxes — and that’s under relatively benign assumptions about interest rates.

This is the quiet crisis unfolding. It is the interaction of too much debt, rising interest costs and persistent political unwillingness to act.

Knowing all this, it would be easy to treat this budget as one more unserious document and move on. But that would miss the point, because it is not an outlier. It is part of a pattern that has been building for years and has only accelerated since the Great Recession.

That pattern must end. Year after year, presidents of both parties submit budgets that avoid necessary tradeoffs. Year after year, Congress fails to impose discipline. And year after year, the debt trajectory worsens, imposing a growing burden on the vibrancy of the private sector.

Written by Veronique de Rugy

Official website; http://twitter.com/veroderugy

As to Trump’s criticism of “endless wars,” supporters should not have taken it seriously for several reasons. First, we have “endless wars” because we have endless enemies. And they have a vote. Second, one could argue that the war against Iran is not new. After all, Iran’s leaders have been calling for America’s annihilation for 47 years. Third, presidents make decisions based upon events, many of which are unforeseen.

Woodrow Wilson campaigned in 1914 to keep America out of World War I. He ultimately took the country to war. Before our entry into World War II, several Americans supported an anti-war movement called America First. A couple of college students named Gerald R. Ford and John F. Kennedy supported this movement. Then came Pearl Harbor.

Assuming Iran was on the brink of acquiring the ability to make a nuclear bomb — their own negotiators admitted Iran had enough enriched uranium to make 11 bombs — this left Trump a couple of options: do nothing, the route taken by previous presidents, or stop them. Rather than kick the can down the road, Trump chose to stomp on it.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, prominent lawyer David Boies chastised fellow Democrats for opposing the war and letting their animosity against Trump cloud their judgment:

“If (Trump) hadn’t acted, his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous choice than his predecessors left him. … What is harder to understand, and particularly troubling for our country, is opposition rooted simply in antipathy toward Mr. Trump himself.”

As for the war’s unpopularity, opponents call Trump a liar as to the intel purporting to show Iran is an imminent threat. Critics say he failed to consult, let alone get support from, our allies.

But consider the decision President George W. Bush made to go to war. Many now call the Iraq War a blunder of epic proportions. Much of the country believes Bush “lied us into the war.”

Let’s revisit. At first, 72 percent of Americans, according to Gallup, supported that war. Bush obtained resolutions in support of the war from both the House and the Senate. The widely held belief that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction was only one of the many reasons set forth in the resolution. The resolution also noted that Iraq used chemical weapons on its own people and on the Iranians; that Iraq was stealing from the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme and likely using the money for military purposes; that Iraq was shooting at the British and American planes patrolling the southern and northern no-fly zones; and that Saddam Hussein had attempted to assassinate President George H.W. Bush.

George W. Bush formed a “coalition of the willing” consisting of 48 nations, including the U.S., U.K., Australia and Poland, that committed troops to the effort.

The war became unpopular. Many denounced Bush as a liar and a war criminal, despite his pre-war effort to form a coalition, to get buy-in from both Democrats and Republicans and to obtain a unanimous resolution from the U.N.

Trump did none of this before going to war against Iran. He is as excoriated as viciously as was Bush, who did all the things critics accuse Trump of not doing. So the real issue comes down to whether Trump is doing the right thing.

During the Iran-Iraq war, the Iranian regime used children to clear minefields — costing tens of thousands of young lives. There was a term for this. It is a war crime.

Iran is now mobilizing boys as young as 12 to fight the U.S. and Israel. There’s a term for this. It is a war crime.

And it is forcing citizens to form human chains to stand in front of military targets. There is a term for this. It is a war crime.

This is the value the regime places on its own people. Imagine the value it places on the lives of its perceived enemies.

This is why this fanatical regime cannot be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. This is why Trump is correct to implore the civilized world to join the fight.

Columnist; Larry Elder

Official website; http://www.larryelder.com

After the Civil War, many employers in hospitality and rail service hired newly freed Black workers into jobs where tips often replaced wages. Tips became, for too many workers, the wage itself. That injustice still lives on today in the form of a lower minimum wage for tipped workers.

We should call that system what it is: an old injustice that never ended.

Today, it does not just hurt Black workers. It hurts tipped workers of every race. It leaves millions of people with unstable incomes. Too many workers finish a shift without knowing whether they earned enough to cover rent, groceries, or childcare.

It also leaves workers more vulnerable to harassment. When your livelihood depends on pleasing the customer in front of you, even when that customer is drunk, crude, or predatory, the power imbalance is obvious. No worker should have to put up with humiliation to earn enough to live.

No decent society should accept that as normal.

Yet for decades, the corporate restaurant lobby has fought to preserve exactly that arrangement. Its argument is always the same: pay workers fairly and the industry will suffer. But what it is really defending is a business model built on paying some workers less and making customers close the gap.

Chicago is right to reject that model.

Today, tipped workers in Chicago can still be paid $12.62 an hour before tips, while the full city minimum wage is $16.60. The city’s 2023 law was designed to close that gap over time, ending the tip credit by July 1, 2028. And when the City Council moved last month to freeze that progress, Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the measure and fought to keep the phaseout in place.

He deserves credit for that.

Because this fight is bigger than restaurants.

We are living through twin crises of affordability and democracy. The first shows up at the kitchen table. Rent is too high. Groceries are too high. Child care is too high. Too many families work hard and still cannot get ahead. The second shows up in the growing number of working people who no longer believe democracy can improve their lives.

Those crises are connected.

When government moves quickly to protect loopholes for powerful interests and slowly to raise wages for working people, faith in democracy erodes. People start to believe the system is rigged because too often it is. But when leaders stand up to lobbyists and fight for the people who do the work, democracy starts to feel real again.

That is why this matters.

The issue here is dignity. It is whether a woman serving your dinner should have to tolerate harassment to make enough to buy groceries. It is whether a man working a late shift should have to wonder if a weak night in tips means his child goes without. It is whether labor will be respected in this country or merely used.

A tip should be what it was always supposed to be: extra. It should not be an employer’s excuse not to pay a real wage.

And the principle should not stop with tipped workers. In a country as rich as ours, the minimum wage should be a living wage, with no carveouts, no loopholes, and no second-class categories of worker.

Chicago has a chance to say something to the nation: work has dignity, and every worker deserves a full wage.

Mayor Johnson is right to keep fighting. Now the city should finish the job.

Written by Ben Jealous

Official website; https://twitter.com/BenJealous

Common HVAC Mistakes in First Time Homeowner Maintenance

Most first-time homeowners don’t break their HVAC system in one big mistake, it’s usually a series of small oversights that stack up, especially when home HVAC maintenance isn’t part of a regular routine.

Treating HVAC as “set it and forget it” is a common issue. Many assume if the system turns on, it’s fine, but HVAC system maintenance requires ongoing attention to stay efficient, and running doesn’t always mean it’s functioning properly.

Ignoring the air filter (or using the wrong one) can choke airflow and strain the system. Closing vents to “save energy” or blocking returns also restricts airflow, disrupting system balance and increasing pressure over time, something basic HVAC maintenance tips often warn against.

Cranking the thermostat instead of adjusting gradually doesn’t make the system work faster, it just forces it to run longer and harder. Many homeowners also overlook early warning signs like longer run times or uneven temperatures, which are key signals in first time homeowner maintenance.

Skipping professional inspections entirely allows small issues like low refrigerant or worn parts to go unnoticed until they become expensive failures, making HVAC system maintenance more costly in the long run.

Why Home HVAC Maintenance Gets Overlooked

Because HVAC is invisible when it works, and confusing when it doesn’t.

HVAC systems tend to fade into the background because they operate out of sight and don’t provide obvious signs of decline. There’s no immediate feedback loop, problems build quietly, and performance issues develop gradually, so homeowners adapt without realizing anything is wrong with their home HVAC maintenance routine.

It’s also not intuitive. Most people understand cleaning or painting a home, but airflow, duct pressure, and refrigerant aren’t obvious concepts, which makes HVAC maintenance feel optional rather than essential, closer to something you can delay than something like an oil change.

With competing priorities like furniture, repairs, and finances, HVAC system maintenance often falls to the bottom until a breakdown forces attention.

Benefits of Regular HVAC Maintenance for Homeowners?

Think of maintenance as buying reliability and lower costs upfront.

Regular HVAC maintenance keeps the system operating at its intended efficiency, which helps lower energy bills since clean, tuned systems don’t have to work as hard. It reduces wear on components, extending the system’s lifespan and lowering the likelihood of surprise breakdowns, most of which start as small, preventable issues.

Consistent home HVAC maintenance also improves indoor air quality by ensuring proper filtration and clean components, reducing dust, allergens, and pollutants. The result is more consistent comfort with stable temperatures, no hot or cold spots, and more predictable performance without the stress of emergency repairs during extreme weather.

Must-Know HVAC Maintenance Tips for Homeowners

If you do nothing else, do these HVAC maintenance tips:

Check your air filter monthly (replace every 1-3 months depending on use) and keep vents and returns unobstructed, furniture blocking airflow is more common than people think. Clean around outdoor units by removing leaves and debris and giving them breathing room as part of your regular home HVAC maintenance.

Pay attention to early warning signs. Strange noises, weak airflow, uneven temperatures, or longer run times are not “normal” and often signal underlying HVAC system maintenance issues.

Schedule at least one annual professional tune-up, ideally twice (spring + fall), but once is better than none, to ensure internal components are cleaned, tested, and adjusted for optimal performance.

How Often to Schedule HVAC System Maintenance

The ideal cadence for HVAC system maintenance:

Twice a year (best practice): spring – AC check, fall – heating system check. This timing ensures the system is prepared for periods of heavy use. At minimum: once per year, focusing on the system you rely on most.

Filters: every 1-3 months, more often if you have pets, allergies, or live in a dusty area, one of the simplest HVAC maintenance tips to follow.

Consistency matters more than perfection, regular basic care beats occasional deep maintenance, especially for first time homeowner maintenance.

DIY vs Pro Home HVAC Maintenance

You can safely handle replacing air filters, keeping vents clean and open, clearing debris from outdoor units, checking thermostat settings, batteries, and the circuit breaker, and monitoring for unusual sounds or smells as part of basic home HVAC maintenance.

Call a professional for refrigerant checks or leaks, electrical components or wiring issues, deep coil cleaning, system diagnostics or airflow balancing, and annual HVAC system maintenance and safety inspections.

Rule of thumb: if it involves opening the system or handling internal components, it’s not DIY.

How Neglecting HVAC System Maintenance Affects Costs and Lifespan

Neglect doesn’t just cause breakdowns, it quietly drains money. It’s not just about fixing things, it’s about avoiding expensive timing.

Neglecting HVAC system maintenance leads to gradual efficiency loss, causing the system to consume more energy to maintain the same level of comfort, resulting in higher monthly bills. Over time, this increased strain accelerates wear on components, leading to more frequent repairs and a shortened lifespan.

Minor issues that go unaddressed can escalate into major failures, often requiring expensive emergency service or premature system replacement, usually at the worst possible time (peak summer or winter), something proper first time homeowner maintenance helps prevent.

Seasonal HVAC Maintenance Tips for Homeowners

Spring (before cooling season):

Replace filter, clear outdoor unit, and test AC early (don’t wait for the first heatwave), simple HVAC maintenance tips that prevent bigger issues.

Summer:

Keep filters fresh and watch for reduced airflow or longer run times as part of ongoing home HVAC maintenance.

Fall (before heating season):

Schedule furnace maintenance or heat pump inspection, check thermostat settings, and ensure vents are open and balanced to stay on track with HVAC system maintenance.

Winter:

Keep outdoor units clear of snow/ice and monitor for dry air (consider humidification if needed).

Seasonal prep is a core part of first time homeowner maintenance and prevents peak-season breakdowns, which are the most expensive and inconvenient.

Simple HVAC Habits for First Time Homeowner Maintenance

The difference isn’t knowledge, it’s habits.

Tie filter changes to a routine (e.g., first day of every month or when you pay a bill) and establish a simple monthly HVAC check walk as part of your HVAC maintenance habits. Look at vents, listen for noises, and check airflow while staying attentive to how the system sounds and performs so you can catch issues early.

Don’t ignore “minor” changes, small performance drops are early warning signs. Think in terms of prevention, not repair. HVAC maintenance is about avoiding problems, not reacting to them.

Keep the area around HVAC equipment clean, as both indoor and outdoor units need space to function properly. Consistent, small actions like these make the biggest difference and help prevent neglect while reducing strain on the system, especially for first time homeowner maintenance.

Staff Writer; Roy Jacobs

All well and good if the circumstances require such an approach, and in general there is much to commend such an attitude; if looking back, going back, or harping for what is behind is detrimental to the achievement of our goals.

This negativity is perhaps what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)

However praiseworthy it is to look ahead and press forward, it is nonetheless true that looking back at where you came from, at the challenges you faced and overcame, at the assistance you were afforded in your hour of need, and the people who were instrumental in delivering your hard-earned success, is at times a useful and necessary exercise.

It was essential, time and again, for God to remind his children to remember the past so that they could better evaluate the present, make the necessary adjustments, look forward in hope, and prepare for a better future:

“And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” (Deuteronomy 8:2)

“Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.” (1 Chronicles 16:12-15)

“Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 16:61-62)

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Revelation 2:5)

Hitherto hath the Lord helped us is an affirmation of vital help given at a crucial time, but it was also a looking back, by Samuel, at where God had taken them from as they battled the warlike Philistines.

In their evaluation, as they reflected on the vagaries of prolonged fighting, after all they had previously fought against fierce enemies including the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, they were now faced with perhaps the most deadly enemy of all; the rampaging Philistines. A people who scared Israel enormously, because among their population were giants.

Samuel had seen the depravity of Israel as the people turned their backs on God, and he instructed them to repent and put away their false gods. Here was his call: “And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 7:3)

The people repented, put away their false gods and turned to God, and Samuel instructed them to meet at Mizpeh, so that he could pray for deliverance from the Philistines. The people gathered as Mizpeh, and when the Philistines heard the news they approached the Israelites and was ready to do battle.

But God had a surprise for the Philistines.

“And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar. .” (1 Samuel 7:10-11)

Remember that Israel had fought the Philistines twice in this same place, and were twice soundly beaten, and the ark taken, and now they had at last achieved a staggering victory. So Samuel took a stone, and set it as a monument of the victory obtained by the help of God, and this he placed between Mizpeh and Shen and called it Ebenezer.

Every believer in Christ can joyfully consent to the sentiments shared by Israel as Samuel declared those memorable words, “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us…” (1 Samuel 7:12)

Every believer in Christ has come through tough battles, be they physical, emotional, mental or spiritual, and can look back, and if not exactly enamoured with the battles, at least can savour the sweet victory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Every believer in Christ has testimony of God’s unfailing grace that has brought them through, even when others were doubtful of their success, and can join with Paul in saying, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Every believer in Christ can look back at the seared landscape, know they have been there, battled in the vicious cauldron of humanity, took knocks and falls, and the many attacks of the enemy, and still emerged trusting God; both now and for the future.

There is absolutely nothing to compare with the knowledge and confidence now that God has brought you through it all. You have been tested and tried, and your confidence in God is undiminished, and you know that he will give you more victories in the future.

This is what, in essence, Samuel was alluding to when he said “Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”

All believers in Christ can now empathise with those undergoing struggle, not because we are perfect, or have already attained, we are far from, but because we have been throughly tested, and have survived, and are witnesses to God’s gracious keeping.

All believers in Christ can speak of the highs and lows of discipleship from the standpoint of personal experience, and is able, not just to offer pray and understanding, but where necessary stand shoulder to shoulder with other believers in Christ and, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” (Romans 12:15)

Every believer in Christ can, because God has hitherto been gracious, say like the Apostle Paul, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) not for any other reason but that you have transitioned to full maturity in Christ through your many tribulations.

Every believer in Christ can be a role model for other Christians, especially the youth, because you have succeeded so far, “…but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

All believers in Christ can look back in awe at what God has brought them through, stand firm and strong in God’s grace that enfold and keeps us, and without a shadow or hint of a doubt know assuredly that, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

So let’s not be discouraged, or get frustrated and dismayed by the prevailing circumstances, no matter how daunting things look. Our God has brought us here, he has guided us thus far with awesome foresight and care; and will take us all the way home. And remember that no one can pluck you out of God’s hand, and that is the ultimate guarantee for all believers.

Staff Writer; Henderson W.

You can contact this Christian brother at: HWard@ThyBlackMan.com.

Not long ago, these were the stories hip hop used to escape. Now they are the stories following it. Offset, one of the key voices behind Migos, is reportedly recovering from a gunshot wound to the leg. Non life threatening, thankfully. But let’s be honest, the fact that we even have to say that says everything about where things are right now.

This is what makes moments like this hit different. It is not just about one incident. It is about a pattern that refuses to break. A cycle where success does not always mean safety, where making it out does not always mean staying out, and where the same energy that fuels the music keeps spilling into real life consequences.

You got a man who made it out. A man who turned ad libs into art, helped redefine flow in modern rap, and built wealth, family, and legacy. And yet somehow, some way, the environment still finds him. Or maybe he never fully left it. That is the part nobody really wants to sit with. Success in hip hop does not always mean escape. Sometimes it just means you are shining brighter in the same dangerous spaces.

Then you got Lil Tjay, a younger voice in the game, representing a different era but facing eerily similar realities. Even if his involvement in this specific situation remains unclear, the fact that his name can even be placed next to a story like this tells you everything you need to know about the current climate. This is a generation that came up watching the last one lose too many of its stars. And somehow, the lessons are not sticking.

What is going on with rappers these days?

That question gets asked a lot, but most people do not really want the real answer. Because the real answer is uncomfortable. It is not just about music. It is about environment. It is about ego. It is about trauma that never got addressed. It is about money coming faster than wisdom. It is about people carrying street rules into spaces that were supposed to be business moves.

Hip hop has always had a relationship with danger. From the early days to the rise of gangsta rap, the music has reflected real life. But there used to be a line. There used to be a separation between the art and the actions. Now it feels like that line is gone.

Too many artists are living exactly what they rap about, not in a poetic sense, but in a literal one.

You cannot build longevity like that.

Offset’s situation, whether all details are confirmed or not, is another reminder that fame does not equal safety. In fact, sometimes it brings more attention, more jealousy, more problems. You become a target not just because of who you are, but because of what you represent. Money. Status. Visibility.

And in a place like a casino in Florida, where money is already flowing and tensions can rise quickly, it does not take much for things to go left.

But here is where the deeper conversation needs to happen.

At what point do we start holding the culture accountable for what it continues to normalize?

Because it is easy to blame individuals. Easy to say this rapper should move different, that rapper should know better. But when the entire ecosystem rewards aggression, when disrespect gets more clicks than growth, when beef sells better than peace, you are dealing with something bigger than one person’s decision.

Hip hop today is caught in a dangerous loop.

Artists come up from environments where survival means being tough, being ready, being respected at all costs. They make it. They get money. They get fame. But the mentality does not always change. And the industry does not exactly encourage that change. If anything, it profits off keeping that edge alive.

So now you have millionaires moving like they still got something to prove.

That is a deadly combination.

And the fans, we have to be honest, play a role too. Not all, but enough. The same audience that mourns when something tragic happens is often the same audience that fuels the energy leading up to it. Hyping beef. Picking sides. Turning real life tension into entertainment.

Until it turns real.

Then everybody wants to post prayers and say it needs to stop.

It needed to stop before the shots were fired.

There was a time when hip hop felt like it was growing into something more balanced. You had artists talking about ownership, mental health, generational wealth. You had glimpses of evolution. But stories like this remind you that the foundation is still shaky.

Because you cannot build something lasting on instability.

And let us be real about something else.

The question of whether rap music is coming to an end gets thrown around every time something like this happens. And the answer is no. Hip hop is too powerful, too global, too influential to just disappear. But what can happen is a decline in quality, a loss of direction, a culture that eats itself from the inside.

That is how genres fade. Not overnight. But slowly, through repetition of the same mistakes.

When violence becomes a recurring headline instead of a rare tragedy, it changes how the world sees the music. It changes how the next generation approaches it. It shifts the focus from creativity to chaos.

And that is not sustainable.

Offset being alive today is a blessing. That cannot be overstated. A leg injury could have easily been something worse. We have seen it too many times. Names we still speak with pain. Careers cut short. Families left behind.

So yes, we are thankful he is recovering.

But we also have to ask what comes next.

Does anything change?

Or does this become just another story that fades after a few days, replaced by the next headline, the next incident, the next cycle of the same conversation?

Because if nothing changes, then the outcome eventually will.

And not in a good way.

The reality is hip hop does not need to end. It needs to evolve again. It needs artists who understand that growth is not weakness. That moving smarter is not selling out. That leaving certain environments behind is not forgetting where you came from, it is honoring it by surviving.

There is nothing strong about dying over pride.

There is nothing real about losing your life or your freedom when you already made it out.

And there is definitely nothing beneficial about fans constantly consuming that energy like it is just another form of entertainment.

This is a moment. Another one. And like all the ones before it, it can either be a turning point or just another entry in a long list of missed opportunities.

Offset is recovering. That is the headline.

But the real story is bigger than one man, one incident, or one night in Florida.

It is about a culture standing at a crossroads, again, asking itself the same question it has been asking for years.

When are we going to do better.

Because at some point, surviving is not enough.

At some point, we have to start living.

I ask you this, is Lil Tjay a b@tch for attacking Offset? Speak up!!

Staff Writer; Jamar Jackson

This brother has a passion for poetry and music. One may contact him at; JJackson@ThyBlackMan.com.

It starts with momentum. A young man gets hot, not just for a season, but in a way that feels like it could last. The streets recognize him. The industry backs him. The numbers line up. The fans lock in. For a moment, everything is moving the way it is supposed to.

Then something shifts.

Not always overnight, but fast enough that you feel it. The music is still there, the name is still buzzing, but the focus starts drifting. The business gets complicated. The pressure builds. And somewhere between the expectations of the streets and the demands of the industry, the foundation begins to crack.

That is where we are now.

The situation involving Pooh Shiesty and Gucci Mane is not just another headline to scroll past. It is not just gossip. It is not just another “rapper in trouble” story for folks to debate for a day and forget by the weekend.

This one cuts deeper because it touches business, power, and control.

A reported dispute tied to a recording contract has now turned into something much darker, something that forces you to look at the entire system around these artists. Because when things escalate to this level, you are no longer just talking about music. You are talking about decisions that can change lives, careers, and legacies in real time.

And the question that keeps coming back is simple, but heavy.

How does a man get this close to having everything and still end up risking it all.

This is sad.

There is a certain kind of hurt that comes when talent and self destruction collide in public. Not the usual disappointment you feel when an artist drops a weak project or misses a moment. This is deeper than that. This is the kind that sits heavy because you can clearly see the opportunity, but you can also see how fast it can all slip away.

The situation surrounding Pooh Shiesty is bigger than headlines. If the allegations are even halfway true, then this was not just about ego or street tension. This was about business. Contracts. Ownership. Control.

And once business gets mixed with street pressure, things tend to spiral fast.

By any real measure, Pooh Shiesty had positioned himself to win long term. Even after prison, his name still carried weight. His music still moved. His fan base was still there, waiting. That kind of second chance does not come often in Hip Hop. Most artists lose momentum and never get it back.

He got it back.

That is what makes this hit harder.

Because when a man still has value, still has demand, still has the machine ready to profit off him, you start asking a real question. Why does success fail to protect the very people it was supposed to elevate.

People will say it is just bad decisions. And yes, decisions matter. But that is not the full story.

Hip Hop has always rewarded proximity to danger. That is the uncomfortable truth nobody wants to fully sit with. The culture tells young artists to make it out, but never fully detach from where they came from. Stay real. Stay connected. Stay official. But also be a businessman, a brand, a corporation.

That contradiction breaks people.

You are expected to think like a CEO but still move like you have something to prove. You are supposed to be polished enough for endorsements but raw enough for credibility. And when you are young, coming from pressure, coming from survival mode, that balance is not easy to hold.

It is almost designed to fail.

Now when you look at the contract side of this situation, things get real cold, real fast.

If a contract or release was allegedly signed under pressure or fear, that document does not hold the same weight as a normal agreement. Business law does not respect deals made under intimidation. That is not negotiation. That is force. And force does not create a clean contract.

So even if something was signed in that moment, it likely would not stand as a legitimate exit from a deal.

That means the original recording contract could still technically be in place.

But here is the part people miss.

A contract being alive on paper does not mean the relationship is alive in reality.

Trust is everything in the music business. Once that is broken, especially in a situation like this, the paperwork becomes secondary. Labels are not just looking at clauses. They are looking at risk.

Can we release music
Can we promote safely
Can we put money behind this artist
Can we depend on stability

Those are the questions that matter.

And if the answer to those questions starts leaning toward no, then the label will move accordingly. They might suspend the deal. They might try to terminate it. They might just sit back and let the legal system play out while the momentum fades.

Because momentum is everything in music.

And once it slows down, it is hard to get back.

That is where the real loss comes in. Not just money. Not just contracts. Momentum.

Albums get delayed. Features disappear. Opportunities dry up. The public moves on. And in today’s game, people move on quick.

That is the part that hurts the most.

Because this was avoidable.

Back in the day, there was more structure around artists. Not perfect, but better. You had people in position who understood that protecting the artist was part of protecting the investment. There were mentors. There was guidance. There were people who would step in before things got out of control.

Now it feels like the machine is fine watching things fall apart as long as it can profit first.

And that is dangerous.

Because young Black men are stepping into million dollar situations without million dollar guidance. They are expected to navigate contracts, fame, pressure, and expectations all at once.

That is a heavy load.

And when there is no real support system, when there is no one pulling them aside and saying slow down, think, move different, then situations like this become more common than they should be.

This is not just about one artist.

This is about a pattern.

Too many talented young men get the opportunity, but do not have the structure to sustain it. They make it out, but cannot stay out.

And that is the real lesson here.

The goal is not just to get on. The goal is to last. The goal is to build something that cannot be taken away by one moment, one decision, one situation.

Because once everything starts crashing, the contract is the least of your problems.

Contracts can be fixed. Reworked. Fought over.

But lost time, lost freedom, lost momentum, that is harder to recover from.

And that is why this whole situation feels bigger than just a dispute.

It feels like another reminder that in Hip Hop, the opportunity is real.

But keeping it

That is the real challenge.

Staff Writer; Jamar Jackson

This brother has a passion for poetry and music. One may contact him at; JJackson@ThyBlackMan.com.

And what did she get?

Like her brunette Cabinet twin, Barbie, she got unceremoniously dumped. According to published reports, she wanted a graceful exit. He wanted her out. So out she goes.

Of course, Pam Bondi deserves to be fired for what she has done to the Justice Department. It is a disgrace. But that’s not the reason she is being fired, and nothing is likely to change with her departure. Will the President suddenly become less vengeful? Not a chance. Will he give up his efforts to control the Department? Why? Will any policies change? Todd Blanche is President Donald Trump’s personal attorney. He has been by Bondi’s side for everything that has gone right or wrong. Will Lee Zeldin, another Trump loyalist to the core, be able to resist the president’s demands any more than Bondi did? Or will he just be less “visible” than Bondi?

Bondi wasn’t the only big news this week. There was the president’s big speech on Iran, his chance to explain to the country what we are doing there and how long we’ll be doing it. Stephen Colbert had the best line on April Fool’s Day. “It was concise, intelligent, and brought the nation together with shared purpose,” Colbert said before the laughter started. It was, to say the least, none of the above.

What shared purpose? Regime change? Keeping the oil lanes open? Dealing with the potential nuclear threat? Will there be a ground invasion as soon as this weekend? Is our future engagement measured in weeks, months, or years? The president simultaneously threatened to hit Iran even harder and to be done in weeks. Done with what? Where next?

Then there is the defense budget. On Friday, the White House asked Congress on Friday to approve about $1.5 trillion for defense in the 2027 fiscal year — a 40% increase over this fiscal year, and the highest spending level in modern history. And who will pay for that? We will, with a call for $73 billion in cuts spread across many domestic agencies, including the elimination of key federal health, housing and education programs, many of which serve those most in need. With most Americans facing literal affordability crises every day, how can we possibly afford $1.5 trillion in defense? The New York Times reports that at a private lunch, Trump said military spending needed to be a national priority, even at the expense of federal safety-net programs and other government aid.

“It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things,” he said. “They can do it on a state basis.” He added that the focus had to be “military protection.”

The states cannot do “all of these individual things,” like Medicaid and Medicare, on their own. They certainly cannot and should not bear those burdens so that King Donald and Prince Pete can conduct their foreign adventures unlimited by acts of Congress or the support of the American people. It is time, past time, for Congress to say no to Donald Trump.

Written by Susan Estrich