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Editorials/Columns
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Why We Must Vote Or Cease To Exist
ou have got to be kidding me.” This is one of those corny expressions that I
find myself using more and more these days.
Every time I tune into a news channel like CNN and hear Donald Trump speak, I feel like I'm watching an episode of that television show Punk'd. I always expect Ash- ton Krutcher to pop from be- hind the scenes and inform us that everything we've been wit- nessing for the last year has all been one long, sick joke..... But, I guess, we couldn't possi- bly be that lucky.
The truth is that this circus sideshow, shamefully unfold- ing before our eyes, is actually a presidential race. And the guy with the orange toupee and sour disposition is only a Russian computer hack away from occupying the White House.
The very thought of some- one like Trump being Com- mander-In-Chief should give us all the blues because we're talking about a dude with ab- solutely no chill. From his in- appropriate criticism of a Gold Star family who lost a son in combat, to the way he embar-
rassed the mother of a crying baby at one of his speaking en- gagements, to his most recent ridiculous assertion that Pres- ident Barack Obama is the founder of ISIS, Trump con- tinues to exhibit extraordinary flexibility by regularly placing his foot inside of his mouth.
This is why it never ceases to puzzle me why people still find it a good idea to support him? Did I miss the speech he gave promising to bless every- one who backs him with a mil- lion dollars after he's elected or something?
I mean, seriously, how can anyone with any common sense watch Trump's antics and honestly come to the con- clusion that he's fit for the presidency. Personally, I wouldn't trust this clown to run my fantasy football league.
His behavior and tempera- ment are so bad that even Re- publican loyalists have written him off as a complete disaster. Yet, remarkably, there never seems to be a shortage of indi- viduals willing to come to his defense after every one of his unbelievable screw-ups.
I get that some people are going for Trump simply be- cause they hate Hillary Clin-
ton. But is she really so bad that giving Trump access to nuclear weapons comes off as a viable alternative?
Granted, Hillary has a lot of baggage. She has had her hand in politics, in some form or fashion, since the sixties. But at least that means she has the kind of experience needed to qualify for the job.
Giving Trump power over an entire nation is like giving Bugatti keys to a 15-year-old. You just know bad things are going to happen.
Sure Hillary's credibility leaves a lot to be desired and she's mastered the fine art of exchanging back scratches for favors. But what lifelong politi- cian hasn't done the same?
The thing with Hillary is that we at least have a clue of what we're going to get. She's the devil we know. Which, in the grand scheme of things, makes her a lot better than having a devil who can't wait to use his presidential pitchfork.
In an election that pits two undesirables against each other it really comes down to which one you're willing to stomach for the next four years. And, if insufferable, emotionally unhinged, overly sensitive, jackasses aren't your thing, the decision should be easy.... Not Trump.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bulletin Pub- lishing Company. You can TEXT C.B., II, at (+18133080849).
Never Ever Trump
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C. Blythe Andrews 1901-1977 (1945)
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr. 1930-2010 (1977)
t would be easy to say that history doesn’t repeat itself. But
those of us who know anything at all, know better. We know that had there not been a Civil War, the freedom of African slaves might still be a debate raging in the chambers of Capitol Hill. And without an understanding of the past, the ma- jority of American women would still be “barefoot, pregnant, and voteless.”
As Frederick Douglass said, more than a century ago, change is not the product of forgetfulness. Indeed, it demands recol- lection, and must be guarded day and night, lest its enemies find new ways to disenfranchise what was built just yesterday.
Therefore, we reach out to this new generation called “Mil- lennial.” We reach out to you because many of us (especially us Baby-Boomers) are growing old, and it just might be that be- fore we lose the ability to speak sincerely, we need to make cer- tain that you understand what you must know in order to stay free.
And this is what you must know. The ones who lost the Civil War never accepted that they had been defeated. When they said, “The South Shall Rise Again,” they meant more than the raising of an outdated flag. They also meant the resurrection of an outdated tradition: Slavery. Then along came Voting Rights, and our enemies’ game plan was shattered, almost . . . until someone came up with another idea: Make Black folks voting so bitter and confusing that they turn away from it vol- untarily.
And so, the second Civil War began. It’s being fought even now, as ex-felons are denied the right to vote and headstrong young folks believe BLACK VOTES DON’T MATTER. We are embroiled in a battle of words where perception may too quickly become a reason for death camps.
Therefore, Brothers and Sisters, on bended knees, we beg you, do not let the history of scoundrels, slavers, and neo-Nazis repeat itself. Turn out to vote. It’s a matter of life or liberty.
Trump Attempts To Sell The Brooklyn Bridge To Blacks
ook at my African American over there” (2016 Cam- paign Speech). “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day . . . I
think that the guy is lazy and it’s probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in Blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not any- thing they can control.” (John O’Donnell, former Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino manager, 1991).
“If I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated Black, because I really do believe they have the actual advantage today.” (1989 Bryant Gumbel television show).
These are just a few insensitive remarks about Black people made by presidential candidate Donald Trump. Yet, he expects Black voters to vote for him because he chose a practically all-white community, this past Tuesday night, to pander to Black voters.
The Republican Party expects Blacks to forget that the only rea- son President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves, was that he wanted to punish the Southern economy because they opposed the North. In fact, Blacks would have still been in slavery if the South had stopped fighting the Union.
Obviously Trump expects Black people to forget that the De- partment of Justice sued him and his father twice (1973 and 1976) for discriminating against Black people in housing rentals; or that he stirred up racial hatred for five Black and Hispanic teenagers falsely accused of raping a Central Park jogger, or that Black employees were ordered off the floor of Trump’s casino whenever he and Ivana visited the casino, and that he has “retweeted messages from white supremacists or Nazi sympa- thizers.”
We hope Black Americans won’t be fooled by Trump’s rheto- ric. In fact, we would like to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to any Black person who plans to vote for Trump. (Dr. Ben Carson, are you lis- tening?)
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