The Wanderer’s Voice Black Panther Review

They said the revolution would not be televised.  They were right.  The revolution is streaming through Netflix and cinematic art.  Ryan Coogler’s version of Wakanda transports us to the Africa of our fantasies.  Uncolonized.  Undivided. Unencumbered by colonial mindsets.  Free of the self hate and tribalism that’s crippled the diaspora since our forced exodus centuries ago.  It’s not a utopia by any means, it still has its share of xenophobes, but it’s a vision many in the diaspora don’t see outside of our community.  It’s self determinant.  Wankanda doesn’t need your help and isn’t shy about letting you know it.  They don’t need a white savior which, ironically is the source of its pride (and ours) and it’s greatest challenge.  

We are home

The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe for the non-comic book literate) Wakanda perceives itself to be an African paradise, one maintained by a fierce devotion to its ideals and a rejection of any and all outside influences.  Now before we start making comparisons to North Korea or our current American regime, it’s important to remember that even in this fantasy Africa, colonialism and slavery are very much are the forefront of Wakanda’s decision to isolate itself.  The result is a society more technologically advanced than any western power so maybe they were on to something.  As the story progresses, however, it becomes clear that the world has changed since that philosophy was adopted.  The price modern Wakanda pays for its devotion to its isolationist policy is the death of one of its princes at the hands of his own brother.   A prince who could not turn his back on the suffering of black people outside Wakanda’s borders.  It also creates a monster in Eric Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), N’Jobu’s (Sterling K. Brown of NBCs “This is Us”) orphaned son.  It’s obvious he’s meant to be a conduit for black suffering but he’s also an ugly reflection of T’Challa’s (Chadwick Boseman) privileged upbringing.  One royal son raised to rule and kept ignorant of the price of his privilege.  The other, given nothing, abandoned by his people, denied his royal station, and forced to literally kill his way home.  As T’Chaka (Bonisile John Kani) said to his son on the spirit plane, “It’s hard for a good man to be king.”  Both T’Chaka’s and N’Jobu’s solution was, shortsightedly, to keep their sons in the dark.  

Our sons die from lack of knowledge

Ironically, white supremacist doctrine relies on the same philosophy, keeping its people in the dark about the true price of their comfort and privilege.  “Westward Expansion” instead of “conquest,” “liberation,” instead of “invasion,” etc etc...  And much like those educated in white supremacist doctrine, T’Challa may know who his cousin is but is unprepared for what he is.  This is made brutally clear with the ease that Killmonger takes T’Challa apart during the challenge.  The rage that consumes him is something no Wakandan has ever faced and collectively they are at a loss for how to combat it.  The lone exception being W’Kabi (Daniel Kalyuua) who shares Killmonger’s desire to place Wakanda at the top of the colonial food chain.  It’s a sentiment that appeals to our darkest desires and why I suspect Killmonger has endeared himself to so many, even though he supposed to be the villain.  To finally flip the tables on white people, to give them a taste of what they inflicted on us, to sit in a seat of privilege in a culture molded to suit us and force them to adapt.  The logical conclusion of that line of thinking, of course, is that you’d have to be willing to do what they did.  Subjugate, lie, break treaties, dehumanize, and kill until there’s nothing left of your own humanity.  But what’s kept us alive through all the years of brutality and oppression is a staunch belief that we are above that.  That if the tables were turned, we wouldn’t be the brutal oppressors that they were.  We haven’t been suffering and bleeding and dying across the world simply to become what we hate.  These are the seeds of a better tomorrow.  A hope that we would never go back to our brutal past and the broken bodies of our ancestors would serve as a living reminder of the price of hatred.  That’s what Killmonger never understood and that’s what T’Challa finally realized after learning the truth about his father.  Black liberation across the diaspora cannot come using the same methods the colonizers used to subjugate and enslave.  Nor can the privileged among us turn their backs on those of us that could not walk that path.  

Even in our fantasies, women are the bedrock of our strength.

Nakia (Lupita N’yongo) Okoye (Danai Gurira aka the Walking Dead’s “Michonne”) are a constant reminder to T’Challa of the ideals his people are supposed to live by.  Like N’Jobu, Killmonger, and W’Kabi, Nakia believes Wakanda should be doing more to help the diaspora but chooses to put herself in harm’s way as one of Wakanda’s “War Dog” spies rather than start a whole scale war by becoming an arms dealer like N’Jobu.  She understands she doesn’t have to choose between her duty to her country and her calling and ultimately her example is the blueprint T’Challa uses to begin his Wakandan outreach program.  Okoye is the consummate patriot.  (And bad ass) Even with someone as vile as Killmonger on the throne she refused to waver in her duty to her country, initially serving him as she would T’Challa even though she deeply mourned his death.  Even when she and the Dora Milaje turned on Killmonger it was because he broke the rules of the challenge.  She represents the rule of law when applied fairly and justly, not given to extremes, emotion, or sentiment.  W’Kabi found that out the hard way during the final battle of the film when she stood ready to kill him when faced with choosing between her fiancé and her country.  T’Challa’s little sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), is Black girl magic personified.  She’s by far the smartest member of the royal family, seemingly taking that role from the printed version of T’Challa (who’s on par with Tony Stark and Professor X in the comics.) Her intelligence precociousness, curiosity and compassion are the heart of the Panther clan.  She clearly represents where education and self-confidence can take you.  No Hidden Figures here as Shuri is behind the baddest tech in Black Panther’s arsenal and my newest favorite word, coloniza! 

 

Wakanda Forever

Many have said that the reason our country is so divided now is because of a lack of shared experiences. This movie is a game changer not just because it’s a shared experience for all Americans, but it gives us a rare shared experience with those on the continent who may finally understand their American, West Indian, and South American brethren just a little bit better.  Our American cousin’s especially have been forcibly cut off from their roots for centuries. There have been many attempts to reconnect but most of them end in futility. For those of us not fortunate enough to be able to afford a DNA test, art like this may help deliver a sense of connectedness that we haven’t felt since before we were taken.  This is truly an event that has been felt across the oceans and back to the ancestors. Maybe this will help inspire future generations to create their own Wakanda and we would no longer be wanderers.  That would really be something.  Wakanda Forever!

This is the Wanderer’s Voice.

More Thoughts and Prayers

If nothing was done after Sandy Hook, nothing will be done.  I don’t have the strength to look at this deeper than with a clinical, analytical perspective.  Sandy Hook broke me.  Made me numb to these incidents.  America doesn’t care about it’s children enough to put their lives over an ideology that’s been repeatedly proven false.  There is no reason a civilian should have access to a functioning military style assault rife.  

NONE.

I used them when I served.  They are not for self defense.  They are designed to kill only one type of target.  People.  The trite rebuttal from the NRA and their lobbyists is that “crazy people” will find a way to kill anyway.  That’s true.  Knives, bombs, and trucks are also weapons of choice for mass casualty killers.  Evil always finds away.  But so does good.  You don’t just throw your hands up.  Should we stop arresting people for murder since we’ll all die anyway?  Of course not because that’s absurd.  So is refusing to curb gun laws and make them uniform at the federal level.  I shouldn’t be able to buy a weapon banned in New York in Pennsylvania then simply drive back to NY and use it.  It’s even more absurd that no other country on the planet has this problem because they aren’t deliberately mis-interpreting the right to bear arms as the need to own the most destructive weapons possible.      I’m also not willing to turn our nations schools into de facto prisons just to satisfy the NRAs vision of a fully armed America.  We’re supposed to be better than this.

It’s long past time to stop the self delusion about “good guys with guns” and admit the weapons free-for-all is literally killing our children.  Looks past the sound bites and political tribalism and ask yourself if your beliefs are worth your children’s lives because that’s what it’s come down to.  Is the NRAs version of America one you want to live in?  Everyone with guns only means we all get shot.  I’m spent.  I have as much compassion left to give as lawmakers do.  None.  They say they offer thoughts and prayers but I wonder what God would accept prayers from men and women who have the power to save children but choose not to?  Not any God I serve.  How about for lent we give up our egos and look at the world for what it is, not what we’d like it to be.  Our babies’ lives literally depend on it.

This is the Wanderer’s Voice.

In Defense of the Bandwagon

We all know one.

If you’re a sports fan you know who they are.  In the 90s it was all about the Dallas triplets and the basketball dynasty in Chicago.  In the 00s, you couldn’t tell them nothin’ about Kobe or Shaq nor that the Patriots weren’t the greatest team in NFL history (before they earned it).  Now? It’s all about wherever LeBron plays, Golden State, and the Pats (legitimately now).  Those of us who’ve been loyal to one team for decades, hate them like wives hate homewreckers.

But why?

Ok maybe I can think of a few reasons...

Because we know that the ultimate price of loyalty is time invested.  We give our most precious most irreplaceable commodity to these organizations who rep our homes (or closest city) in the hopes we get some return on our investment.  That means championships.  The Lakers, Steelers, Packers, Cowboys, Celtics, NY Giants and Yankees do this better than most.  More than half the championships from the top 3 American sports rest with those “flagship” franchises.  It’s why they still get nationally televised games even when they suck.  We feel good when they win because by proxy it makes us feel like champions.  But what about those teams that have been bottom feeders for decades?  The “loveable losers?”  The Browns, Bengals, Red Sox, Cubs, Lions, Clippers, Bucks, Knicks, Nets, Jets, Bills and until last night, the Eagles?  How much time, emotional energy and money should you spend on a franchise that either can’t or won’t get it together to pay you back?

 Most loyal fanbase in all of sports.  0-16 in 2017.  FIFTEEN seasons without even a playoff appearance. 

There was a time that I could to tell you the starters of every NBA and NFL team from memory.  I knew the Knicks and Giants rosters by heart.  I lived and died with every Knicks playoff series and every Giants’ playoff game.  But I’m getting older.  I have a family now.  Priorities have changed and where I invest my time, even in leisure, matters.  It’s not disloyal to break ties with anyone who doesn’t keep up their end of the bargain.  Pain and disappointment are an inevitable part of life but the reason we watch sports is to escape.  Why should we invest in franchises whose leadership is historically incompetent?  I’m not talking about cyclical ups and downs.  I’m talking about teams that haven’t even made the playoffs in over a decade!  We sit and endure blunder after blunder, failure after failure because that’s what “loyal” fans do but where is the payoff?  The old fans who essentially waited until the Sox and Cubs finally reached mountain top before they died make for great human interest stories but they’re terrible investments in time.  

No words necessary.

The bandwagon fan, who we despise, wouldn’t ever make that trade off.  We shit on them for being disloyal but they’re anything but.  They’re just loyal to themselves and aren’t willing to waste years investing in a franchise that isn’t doing what it promised.  In a way, they respect themselves enough to know that their time and energy is valuable and they’re smart enough to put it where they’re most likely to get the best emotional return for their attention.  It’s true the good times are sweeter when you’ve lived through the  worst.  Shared adversity is one of the most powerful bonding experiences.  But at some point, it becomes masochism or mental abuse to subject yourself to decades of consistent failure.  If the whole point is to experience some sort of proxy joy by watching your team win championships then what is it doing to your mental state to watch that same team fail time and time again?  In some cases, since your childhood?  Some of us can carry that lesson far beyond the court or the gridiron but that’s a discussion for another day, I have to go watch my Knicks.

This is the Wanderers Voice...

I Finally Understand #MAGA

It's been a minute.  Sometimes life kicks you in the teeth and you need extra time between rounds before you get back in the fight.  I haven't recovered fully but I'm stable enough now to start throwing jabs again so here we go...

Make America Great Again.  

It's the slogan that won Dolt 45 the highest office in the land.  But like most good slogans, its definition could be molded to fit almost any situation or perspective.  America means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.  For some, its the ultimate melting pot.  A country made strong by its mix of people from all over the world thrown into a Star Spangled blender, bound by a commitment to democracy, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness.  To others, America is made strong by a commitment to conservative values, strong families, a strong military, and sensible fiscal policy.  To even more, it's a country that's kept strong by ensuring one group remains dominant over all others and their decisions ultimately result in better outcomes for everyone.  As we reach the one year anniversary of the most controversial presidency since Nixon I think its safe to say our favorite Cheeto in Chief wasn't thinking about these different facets when he started his quest to simplify our country's values 140 characters at a time.  To understand what he meant by the slogan you have to understand his values.  Thankfully, he's not a man of nuance, subtlety, or guile.

I said earlier that America means a lot of things to a lot of people and what the #MAGA slogan means depends on your perspective.  To a person on the outskirts of society like minorities, soon to be the collective majority, the commitment to diversity shown by the last administration was America finally recognizing your humanity.  Until Obama's election, the majority of non-immigrant, non-white Americans felt like that kid in high school no one remembers.  The observer that just went to class and passed all the cool kids in the hallway but could never make enough of an impression to get noticed.  If you did get noticed, that attention was usually negative.  Think bullied by jocks or mocked for some random deformity you have no control over like braces or being short.  Pep rallies and school spirit were wastes of time since you never felt like part of the school.  Until the coolest kid you've ever seen, cooler than the school's star QB not only talks to you like you exist, but tells the other cool kids about you.  And he's got braces.  And he's short.  But none of that matters because he just commands respect.  Suddenly you and your fellow outcasts think, "if THIS guy can pull this off and he's just like me..."  Suddenly you're an American.  No hyphens.  Old glory's stars look a little brighter and her stripes a little more vivid because for the first time in your life your country actually lived up to its promise of progress.  Of diversity.  This complete outcast just got a seat at the most powerful table on the planet and he's just like you.  

Coolest photo ever.

So diversity to you means opportunity.  A chance to shed your exterior and truly be judged by your accomplishments and your character.  Diversity to you means not having to put yourself into a bucket because the more "outcasts" there are at the table the less of an outcast you become.  From that aspect, America was already great and #MAGA means a return to the old status quo, where you're back to being the invisible short kid with the braces who gets his lunch money taken and stuffed in lockers.  That doesn't just frighten you.  It pisses you off.  That's something 45 can't relate to but his immigrant grandfather could.  It took Frederick Trump 7 years to earn his citizenship after his arrival from Germany to New York in 1885.  He eventually moved to a state that was as new as he was to America, Washington, where he voted in the first Presidential election for both of them in 1892.

Demon Seed....(Sorry, not sorry)

If you're a MAGA-American, diversity must feel like an invasion.  You grew up in a culture that not only sheltered you from the rest of the world and its issues, but deliberately put you on a false pedestal of superiority.  Every historical example of "you" presented your people in a dominant, angelic, and benevolent light that as you got older you realized was not only false, but the direct opposite of historical truth.  Your people didn't spread democracy across America as an act of upliftment for uncivilized natives.  They did what most empires do,  spread their culture by the sword (or the gun if we're being historically accurate.)  Millions died for the foundation of your country.  The country that you had been told was the shining city on the hill, a beacon of hope for the oppressed and the best force for good the world has ever known.  In fairness, America has had its moments.  The Nazis were an evil that would not have been stopped without American intervention.  American ingenuity brought the world advances in medicine, engineering, physics, and countless other positive changes to the global community.  Racism, while it still exists in many forms today, isn't as brutal and indifferent to black life as it was at its inception.  But progress demands that fixing a problem starts with acknowledgement.  When faced with the choice of embracing a horrid history of genocide or keeping the sanitized narrative of historical moral superiority it's not hard to understand why people choose to remain in their personal Matrix.  It's also not hard to understand why they'd follow someone who reinforces the more pleasant narrative like Trump, who thinks of himself a business tycoon despite his string of failed businesses.  Facts, however, don't care how you feel.  Making America Great Again has just enough of a jingoistic ring of patriotism to help its believers delude themselves into thinking its an agenda of self love when in reality its a rehash of the nativist movement of early 1900s.  Ironically, that's the last time there was a massive influx of immigrants, many of whom were the grandparents of the current MAGA-Americans, including the aforementioned grandfather our current Commander in Chief.  

The irony....the more things change....

The need to protect his image as the all powerful, all knowing, and unquestioned master of everything, is very similar to the needs of MAGA-Americans to see themselves as unswerving patriots despite their positions being the very antithesis of American ideals.  Those early immigrants also faced violence at the hands of Nativist Americans who were fearful that they would take their jobs and "replace" them.  The irony is that the nativists from both eras are right in a sense.  They were replaced.  They changed their names from Jankowitz to Johnson and their children were able to blend in by hiding their history as newcomers.  In two generations, they were the new "Americans."  We've already seen similar actions by today's immigrants.  The Estevez's of Hollywood fame come to mind.  Ramon Antonio Gerardo Estevez and Carlos Irwin Estevez being the most successful. Oh I'm sorry, you might know them better as Martin and Charlie Sheen.  The men in Charlottesville were willing to assault and murder people for doing things their own grandparents did but still want to believe they're being patriots just like their President believes he's a "stable genius."

Patriotism at its finest according to David Duke

The fear of replacement and the need to "Make America Great Again" only make sense if you don't understand the history of the country you claim to love.  The idea of America, founded on the hope of creating a country in which the old European-style socioeconomic caste system would be left behind, cannot exist under a system that seeks to reinstate it.  America's founding fathers and the men and women that died at the hands of imperial muskets to bring this country to life would be appalled to see their nation falling back into the same system they fled.  Granted, their personal moral code led them to not extend their idealism to the First Nations of the Americas nor the Africans they kidnapped, brutalized and enslaved but the idea of a country free of barriers to prosperity that weren't self created is one that eventually led to America we know today.  We aren't perfect, but the one thing this country could hang its hat on was that it improved, decade after decade.  From outlawing the importing of slaves to eventually fighting the bloodiest war of its time to free them to giving women the right to vote then eventually African Americans winning their right to do the same shows that we can and have changed and will continue to change for the better.  Every change we have made has been for the betterment of America not its downfall.  Until Trump, that progress was leading us to an America where color truly wouldn't matter anymore and it could be argued that this farce of a presidency might actually be the final nail in the coffin for the fallacy of white supremacy.  We built this nation together.  From the death of Crispus Attucks to the election of Barack Obama we have always been there. We survived Jim Crow, we survived slavery, and still made contributions to this land that made it better.  Even if we didn't come here by choice it's our home now and America's greatness can't be excluded, deported, stripped of its rights, nor rendered politically invisible again.  Anyone who tells you otherwise isn't talking about America.  They're talking about making themselves great at your expense.

This is the Wanderer's Voice...    

6 Months into the #Reisistance

First, some facts about the current state of our country in terms of the factions that are battling for its soul.

1.  The Media:  There are 2 factions of mainstream media.  The first faction performs like American State Television.  Their objective is to legitimize the current government at the cost of critical thinking.  I recently came across an article that compared the consumers of this type of media as political "fans."  Akin to sports fans who are incapable of seeing their favorite team's wrong doings, consumers of pro-government media can watch our current Commander in Chief poison the minds of young adults with political rhetoric and react with excitement rather than revulsion.  Ironically, they see themselves as freedom fighters and rebels, standing up to the Washington establishment and in some of the more extreme circles, even higher education.  Many see "liberal education" as the cause of their ills, forcing themselves into a an cocoon of willful ignorance fed by a network of information that passes itself off as news but in reality is a multi-million dollar exercise in confirmation bias.

The second faction also presents itself as news and until the 2016 election was actually the closest you could get to pure journalism.  Since the election, however, their objective has been to trigger something that has only happened three times in the country's history...force the impeachment/resignation/removal of a sitting President.  Andrew Johnson was saved by one vote at his impeachment trial, Nixon resigned after the details of the Watergate break in became public, and Bill Clinton became the first President since Andrew Johnson to be formally impeached.  Clinton, like Johnson, was acquitted.  It's not likely they will succeed but the consumers of this type of media also believe themselves to be freedom fighters, battling against the Trump-complicit Washington establishment, deriding the pro government supporters as uneducated racists who are willing to sell the country out to the Russians to support a man who fits their vision of America.

2. Congress:  There are also 2 factions in our legislative body that are fighting for dominance and they aren't the ones you think.  The GOP is split between the extreme right wing of the party, who are largely holding on to their seats because their state legislatures have gerrymandered the districts they "represent" and the long time entrenched Washington establishment Republicans who find themselves more often than not having to hold their noses to defend the President.  I've decided not to count the Democrats because their political power is non-existent and are behaving like a united anti-Trump front.  The "House Freedom Caucus" as they're called, are the intractable, immovable, and uncompromising right wing of the party.  They reside in the House of Representatives and they don't care about negotiation.  They care, unrealistically, only about their agenda and couldn't care less about the consequences.  It shouldn't be overlooked that a political cabal that has "freedom" in its name more often than not holds the House hostage with their tactics.  The political machine that has kept the country running since the end of WWII is now being challenged daily by neophytes, zealots, and complicit Washington veterans.  The GOP is doing everything it can to avoid having to draft Articles of Impeachment for 45 but it becomes a less and less tenable position with every tweet, Russian leak, and abuse of executive power.

3. The American People:  We've always been a country of differing opinions.  That massive swath of diversity in thought is supposed to be our greatest strength as a country.  We're supposed to take the best of everyone's gifts, no matter their origin, and come up with solutions that work for the vast majority of us.  However, since turn of the century, it seems that the ideological pendulum keeps swinging further and further away from the center with each election.  W was the "compassionate conservative," pulling at the religious heartstrings of America's heartland in the wake of the morally repugnant Clinton/Lewinsky scandal.  What he actually did was not only pull the country further to the right than his father and Reagan ever did, but launched two of the bloodiest wars in American history, one we're still fighting as of this post.  Then came the President no one thought possible, Barack Obama.  A black man occupying the highest office in the land for 8 years is as liberal as it gets no matter what his party affiliation.  It was a phenomenon we may not see again if his successor is any indication.  The customization of our news, entertainment, and living spaces has robbed us of much of any shared experiences we once had.  We retreat to our own little safe corners where we never have to hear an opposing opinion or an uncomfortable truth if we don't want to.  Questioning a narrative has become an act of literal bravery since an unpopular opinion these days can literally ruin your life.  45 ran a campaign of fear and us vs them rhetoric, appealing to our worst natures.  His supporters became more openly racist and his detractors turned violent after he won (much like he threatened to instruct his supporters to do had he lost.)

Of the 3 factions outlined above, the last one worries me the most.  The constant deluge of news from Washington that feels like all the progress we've made as a society over the last 30 years is being disregarded for a return to toxic machismo.  Has education's increasing inaccessibility has created a class of American who are unable to spot bullshit?  It seems so.  This may sound insulting, but it's like trying to discuss physics to someone who doesn't understand algebra.  Street smarts are wonderful but without the book smart component, 45 can continue to spin his ballads of bullshit and
appeal to your emotions instead of your logic.  Having you believe that none of the hundreds of lies he's been caught in are true or his fault.  Indeed, the majority of the people who hate him tend to be higher educated.  45s cult of personality is so appealing that his supporters can't even entertain the real possibility, bordering on likely thanks to Don Jr., that their President is engaged in a morally questionable relationship with the Kremlin.  The complicity of the Republican congress, not challenging him on the emoluments clause, not rebuking his remarks about women, not requiring him to live up to the standards that every other president (even Nixon) met is a worse than a deal with the devil.  At least the devil promised to give you something in return.

The Many Faces of Fear

The girl next door.

Welcome to the Wanderers Voice Podcast.

This commentary is for the week ending June 3, 2017

Thank you for joining me. 

The Many Faces of Fear

Back in the late 90s the 24 hour news cycle was a relatively new phenomenon. The first demonstration of the power of round-the-clock news coverage was the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Then-President Bill Clinton deservedly faced relentless scrutiny for his sexually predatory behavior. It was the first time since Watergate that a sitting president had been so thoroughly disgraced and the first time in history that there was nowhere to hide from the public shame.  There was no aspect left undiscussed and no minute detail left uncovered.  In the decades that followed, the need to fill air time sacrificed that level of detail for vapid, self-serving, opinion re-inforcing tripe masquerading as news.  24 hour news channels that in 1996 only had two competitors, grew to a space that now boasts more than 10 and it has left us with information ADD.  Now, instead of getting every detail on the most important stories, each network chooses a political focus and only deep dives into stories that fit their narrative, ignoring the dangers of ignoring the whole truth.  The best examples of championing opinion over evidence came this week with the United States withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accords and the American reaction to the latest London terror attack.  

 

Graph courtesy of the World Meteorological Association (https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/large-antarctic-ozone-hole-observed)

Whether Dolt 45 believes in climate change as Nikki Haley has suggested or not as he has said himself, is irrelevant.  Years of misinformation, alternative facts, and flat out lies have earned him support among a good portion of the country.  Climate change-denier arguments typically fall into 2 categories.  Some version of "it's not real" or "we don't know if humans are causing it."  Neither holds much weight.  Why?  Remember the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica so many of us heard about growing up?  Well, thanks to the unprecedented level of cooperation shown by the UN in 1987, where every member nation signed something called the Montreal Protocol, its projected to close by 2080.   The Montreal Protocol, a treaty signed by all 197 member nations, banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs and remains the only UN resolution to boast unanimous support.  Since its since its passage, levels of CFCs in the atmosphere have either leveled off or fallen, allowing the ozone to heal itself.  Like the Paris Climate Accords, it's legislation, done right, for the right reasons, and definitive proof human activity, without question, is having an impact on climate.   The Accords were on the same path to environmental achievement until our current administration decided to scrap our involvement to score political points with people who ignore facts that don't fit their world view.  We don't go around killing people because we're all going to die anyway.  Why would you take that stance on preserving our planet?  If you think the climate Accords are expensive, wait until you see the bill from the next super storm Sandy or the next Hurricane Katrina or your hospital bill for your impending case of skin cancer than Obamacare can't cover because you want that to go away too. 

Speaking of wasteful bills, Trump wasted little time exploiting Saturday night's attack on the London Bridge for political gain.  

We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2017

Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U. K., we will be there - WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2017

We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it will only get worse

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

By the way, these are in chronological order.  He touted the need for his personal goals to be met before offering any sympathy to the victims.

Aside from the fact that on its face it's clearly unconstitutional, The Travel Ban 2.0 is also ineffective. Just like the proposed wall along the Mexican border, the effect would be more psychological than practical. The Muslim ban does not stop domestic terrorism which is largely the type of terrorism the United States has dealt with since 9/11. Also, the ban is for 90 days, after which all restrictions will be lifted again. I'm not sure how banning people for only 90 days "keeps us safe" even if you were to accept the premise that only Muslims commit terrorist acts.  Though I'm sure Ricky John Best, Micah David-Cole Fletcher, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche , 2LT Richard Collins, and the Charleston 9 would disagree with you on that premise.  And what exactly is keeping the administration from performing background checks and this "extreme vetting". while the ban is tied up in the courts?  You don't need the ban to continue background checks on refugees that have already gone through 21 different government agencies and a 2 year or longer waiting list.  It seems the fight over the ban is more of a presidential pissing contest then a national security issue.  Meanwhile, stories like a Georgia white supremacist's failed attempt to weaponize ricin get overlooked.  Ricin, by the way, is a bio-weapon that can kill hundreds with less than an ounce.  We would raise the terror alert level if this had any affiliation with radical Islam. 

America hasn't gotten more polarized solely because of reality television and worsening education standards. The people we trust to keep us informed are also complicit in the undermining of objectivity and its making us less safe.  Divisiveness and anger bring ratings. But it's also brought us quite possibly the most inept, corrupt, and willfully ignorant administration in American history. Facts matter.  Our belief or lack thereof in them doesn't change their existence, no matter how fragile our egos may be.  The day we can no longer take a walk along a pier on a cool summer evening because every day is an ozone alert day or we mourn the dead of a biological attack beause we were too busy focusing on the woman in the hijab and not the man draped in old glory will be the day we finally realize that true evil doesn't have one face.  Whether they are willing to poision our world for profit or poison people who are different for satisify someone's idea of purity, evil can wear a suit or a suicide vest.  Stay vigilant, stay objective, and make sure it isn't wearing your face the next time it strikes.

This is the Wanderers Voice.

Europe Is Already Tired of Trump

Welcome to the Wanders's Voice Podcast.
The Op-Ed for Americans Who Don't Fit in Boxes
This Commentary is for The Week ending May 26, 2017

Angela Merkel looks on as Trump makes a bad wiretapping joke at their joint press conference in Washington on 3/17/17 (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

So here we are.  70 years of an alliance that has kept the world from spinning into another global conflict may be irreparably broken.  It only took two meetings for Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany and the most powerful woman in Europe to publicly write off the United States and Britain as reliable partners in international affairs, saying Europe can no longer "completely depend" on them.  She also opened the door to more cooperation with Vladimir Putin despite his clear meddling in global elections.  This is the most dangerous development in the 4 months (I know it feels more like years) this administration of ignorance has been in power.

I'm not going go into some boring lecture of why populism is dangerous or the exhaustive list of the POTUS's missteps that brought us to this point.  I'll simply point out the last time that the United States and Germany were at odds was World War II and the last time the United States adopted an isolationist "America First" style policy was World War I.  In fact, in the last century, every time the United States has pulled back from its role as an international leader, chaos has followed.  Note that I said leader, not interventionist.  Not colonizer.  Not meddler.  Not agent of regime change.

Leader.  Diplomatic Leader to be precise.

Despite the xenophobic beliefs of 45 and his legion of misinformed misanthropes, international leadership has been the biggest reason the United States and by extension, the United Nations, has been able to keep the peace since the rise of the atomic age.  Despite the endless parade of would-be dictators in Russia, North Korea, China, and the Middle East, the closest we've come to WWIII has only been the Cuban Missile Crisis 1962. Why?  Bullies aren't so quick to throw punches when they know backup is just a phone call away.  Free trade agreements like TPP and NAFTA and T-TIP(EU free trade), strengthen economic ties and provide an incentive for less developed nations to provide intelligence, military support, and economic advantages that hold countries like Russia and China in check.  It's a delicate balance that worked well before being abused by war profiteers like Halliburton and Blackwater and big businesses that continually make staffing decisions based on profit instead of patriotism.  Translation: Outsourcing.  Profit isn't evil but at what cost?  The current administration, aided by almost 30 years of racist misinformation like the notional that non-whites, immigrants, and the poor are the root of all of America's problems, seems to have abandoned not only the status quo but all sense of reason.  Withdrawing from the world stage while simultaneously lecturing our allies like misbehaving children have now created a power vacuum.  Trump's antics aren't just the musings of a cranky old man who's "draining the swamp."  His impulsiveness, lack of diplomacy (some would say even decency) and unpredictability have made America at best a laughing stock and at worst, untrustworthy.  The proof is the people we've depended on as an extension of our policies and power for almost a century just told us to diplomatically fuck off and opened the door for Putin to have even greater influence in Europe.

The implications of Merkel's stance are probably more than I'm aware of since I'm merely an observer but even with my limited access there are 3 things that worry me.  

1. Trade war.  As I've said before, free trade agreements allow countries to flourish.  A return to old style tit for tat taxes on imported goods only hurts consumers.
2. Emboldening our enemies.  I said before bullies prey on the weak.  "America First" ignores the security strength in numbers provides for all nations.
3. Global war.  I also said nature abhors a vacuum.  An isolationist America takes the largest bully on the block off the chessboard opening the door for Russia to fulfill Putin's plan to return his country to its USSR roots.

If you somehow ignore all of this and still think 45 is some sort of mad genius you need to ask yourself two very important questions.  

First, are you loyal to your country or you loyal to Trump?

Second, What would Reagan do?

The Ostrich Republic

"You have immigration status?" she asked. Her English would have been perfect if we pronounced our letters the way they do in San Juan.

I looked around quickly to make sure I hadn't somehow wandered into the customs line at Newark Airport.  Nope...still on line at the DMV.

"You have immigration status?" she repeated.

This time I felt fully justified looking at her as if she'd grown a second head, "What are you talking about?"

She must have seen the disgust on my face and decided against pressing the issue further. She sighed, "Never mind," and ushered me over to her window to fill out the necessary paperwork.

Wow.  Now I need to clarify my immigration status to renew my license?  Like I don't have enough shit to worry about?  This is the type of nonsense that forces you to either lose years off your life (literally) or...do this.

Life has changed for me since Dolt 45, Tangerine Ceaser, first of his name, swore his oath to use our government as his personal piggy bank.  Maybe not so much the day-to-day stuff but the edges of life, the unwritten social rules, have changed.  The stuff that makes you feel like you've got a handle on how things work are not only being rewritten but the new rules seem determined to kick you back down the ladder.  Mos Def, Yasiin Bey or whatever he's calling himself now was right.

"You start keeping pace they start changing up the tempo.--" Mr. Nigga, Mos Def ft. Q-Tip, Black on Both Sides (1999)


The biggest change I've noticed is for a large group of people, facts really don't mean shit anymore. If you've even been halfway paying attention I don't need to elaborate. Even among normally reasonable people, opinions and safe feelings are now more important than reality.  Group think is at an all time high.  We're even willing to spend money on exaggerated problems (illegal immigrant crime, bathroom laws, Abortion) and conversely we're willing to ignore real problems because they either don't affect us or we simply don't care (Domestic Terrorism, Pollution. Education)  If this seems too high level or too far removed from the day to day for you to care about, read some of the things Dolt 45 is willing to cut off eliminate to build a $20 billion wall that won't do jack shit to stop immigrants who fly in, then overstay their visas.

PBS (Yeah, Sesame Street isn't more important than the wall)
Meals on Wheels (neither are the elderly)
Africa Development Foundation (African slaves built Washington, D.C. but we apparently owe them nothing.)
National Endowment for the Arts (Presumably petty because conservatives are rarely viewed favorably by artists)
Minority Business Development Agency (Self explanatory, but...the WALL!)

Whether your safe space is the belief that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim spy or that Donald Trump is the Kremlin's ultimate weapon, facts seem to matter much less than feeling secure.  That, in turn, has lead to unnecessary deaths.

This...is a SIKH.  Not a Muslim...and it STILL shouldn't matter.

The people who know me offline might not believe this, but I wish I could ignore what's happening. I'm more plugged in than most because of my job but even for people who normally don't pay attention to politics, its become inescapable.  Love sports?  Dolt 45 is a topic in multiple facets. Like ratchet, I mean "reality" TV? He's a topic there too.  Sitcoms?  He's there.  Even when I go to the DMV to renew my license, the Tangerine Ceasar, first of his name, he of low information, quick conclusions, high hypocrisy, and narrow vision has slithered his way in!  I didn't think there was a word anyone could call me that could leave me as taken aback as the N word.  I was wrong. Being a black man in America and the son of immigrants, being treated like a visitor in my own country is nothing new.  What pissed me off and scares the shit out of me at the same time is that I never imagined that I would be a possible target for ICE.  I was born here.  Raised here.  Served my country for 8 years.  If a DMV worker who barely spoke English herself could think its appropriate to ask me for my immigration status, why wouldn't an ICE officer who's looking to fill a quota and having a bad day do the same?  Like most people, I don't walk around with my birth certificate as proof of citizenship at all times.  Why?  Because that's absurd.  But this government's newfound focus on their version of "identity politics" now has me questioning how safe it is NOT to? Furthermore, how safe is my country for me and my family if in addition to having to worry about police harassment I have to worry about being mistaken for an illegal because I "don't look like I belong here?"

This is what America looks like.  Doesn't matter how may Trumps you elect.

The culture is literally changing before my eyes.  Violent racists feel vindicated and are now openly looking for ways to push their agenda.  While there is also an encouragingly high level of push back, I've never seen a community change so rapidly from somewhat tolerant to so blatantly bigoted.  I know the you-should-have-known/can't-trust-them-white-folks crowd will scold me for my naivete but I seem to always hold out hope that eventually we can get it right.  Intellectually, I suppose I always knew being straight laced wouldn't be enough to shield me from the bullshit black faces in white spaces go through (and it hasn't completely) but I've started to reach the point where not only am I seeing diminishing returns for my uptight ways (aka my public face) but my private life is also suffering.  As I mentioned before, politics is wrapping its insufferable claws into every facet of American life.  My life.  My tolerance for being spoken to like Spicer speaks to April Ryan  or watching our best and brightest, like Maxine Waters, being openly demeaned by people who aren't fit to shine their shoes intellectually is  now zero.  It's telling, by the way, that the only rebuttal to the arguments raised by both women is to insult their looks or try to police their behavior.  Seems to be the standard response for people who don't have a real answer to why they do what they do or believe what they believe.  It may feel good, no matter what side of the aisle you stand on, to deflect, discount, marginalize, and disrespect those who disagree with you but sticking your head in the sand only cuts off your air.  And from what I can see, the whole country is becoming Eric Garner.  No one can breathe outside of their chosen safe space.

This is What Democracy Looks Like (Observations from Leonard Lance's First Town Hall)

Almost by rule, town halls are usually boring affairs.  The local empty suit that goes to Washington, D.C. to "represent" us comes back to his/her home district, rents out some library, auditorium, or college theatre to, presumably, listen to what we have to say. Its tends to be a cover for the people who have nothing better to do than go to town halls to tell the guy/gal they voted for how great he/she is.  Like most things these days, however, the Tangerine Ceasar has changed all that.  During the congressional recess, republicans from both chambers of Congress have been met with open hostility and protests promising that this term will be their last if they continue the new, chaotic, borderline inhumane status quo.  Times are even tougher if you wear the magic (R) in a deeply blue state like New Jersey.  In fact, of the 5 districts represented by republicans in Washington, only the 7th, the one Leonard Lance (R-NJ) calls home, got a chance to speak its mind. No other New Jersey republican had the balls to face their voters.  It's low hanging fruit to characterize this as the latest in the long line of GOP lawmakers being lambasted at home because of the President because it's only part of the story.

From what I saw at Raritan Valley Community College, the protesters calling for the removal of Leonard Lance had to be the most unprofessional, disorganized, rag tag group of individuals I've ever seen on a campus.  It was a gathering of mostly women lofting a sea of carboard, magic marker, glitter, and righteous indignation fenced off behind an orange construction fence.  Despite the dampness, low temperatures, and accusations of being on the George Soros payroll, they persisted. They wanted to dump Trump, welcome refugees, make america think again, insist that it's her body/her choice, and investigate all things Russian.  I saw no buses.  If these were the best paid protesters you can buy then Soros should be screaming for a refund.  The police, were actually polite and helpful, something I'm frankly not used to.  Maybe the man purse, sharp diction, and lighter than threatening skin threw them off.  At first there was confusion as to who would be allowed to attend.  There was apparently a call to RSVP your seat which differed from the previous "first come first serve" seating I was accustomed to.  I wasn't the only one thrown off because the chief of security was getting loudly berated by an older woman who was recording him...just in case.  Ironically, the tension this woman was trying to generate felt dangerously familiar.  I knew she was trying to create a viral moment for social media to  prove her politics were right.  In any other scenario, we might have had a synergistic conversation, feeding on our mutual distaste for what's happening in Washington.  At that moment, though, I didn't care.  In that moment we couldn't have been anymore different.  I suppose that's the difference between people who've lost their souls one moment of chaos and the people who can never lose the benefit of the doubt.  I stepped toward the protesters until she either got what she wanted or was escorted out.  Didn't care which.  Even as I type this its crazy to me that I actually felt safer with the protesters than near Lance's security.

After about 20 mins of streaming the protesters I tried to re-enter the auditorium.  The shit starter was gone and so was the line so I got a chance to speak with a now much more relaxed security chief.  He, like the police, was unusually cordial, as were the volunteers that guided me to the over flow room where the Town Hall was streaming on 3 large cinema screens.  The transcripts of the acutal back and forth between Rep. Lance and the crowd are documented already.  The parts that stood out to me, besides the usual skill of political double speak, were his willingness to take the tough questions.  He didn't cower or make excuses for his positions.  When he expressed his gratitude for Paul Ryan's leadership, a name that drew vociferous boos, he didn't cower, flinch, or try to explain himself.  He was consistent in his answers,  The Crimean annexation was wrong and proved that Russia was no friend to America.  The Border Wall needn't be as ambitious as the President claims since sections of the terrain are already an effective barrier and the costs would be absurd.  Public schools should remain funded and shifting money from them to charter schools exclusively would be a grave mistake.  Immigrants should be vetted but the ban shouldn't affect dual citizens nor Green Card holders.  Trump should release his taxes but the current bill being pushed in the House goes too far. The feed cut out on answers regarding Dodd-Frank, concealed firearms, and a few other questions I didn't hear.  The only time he looked truly unable to verbally navigate his position were on the bombshell questions on his inconsistent opinion on oil pipelines and Obamacare.  He supports Keystone XL and the DAPL because he "believes they're safer than land transportation", a fact disputed by the questioner, but opposes pipelines running through his district.  If they're safe, why oppose one here?  One woman detailed with righteous anger why Obamacare saved her life and drove home the point that no one would take lawmakers seriously as long as they didn't have the live by the rules they made for everyone else.  In response, Rep. Lance dropped a bombshell on all of us.
Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, no member of Congress or their staff can be covered by the government's health care system.  He and his wife had been paying for private insurance.  The hush that took the crowd on the screens and in the overflow room revealed our collective ignorance of this fact.  I'd always assumed blind racist hatred was the sole motivator for the political outrage at a program that was designed to save lives.  Not that it couldn't still be the case but the personal motive fits so much better.  It was 8:45 and I needed to get home so I streamed the last 15 mins from my car.  As I drove off, I was relieved.  I pay so much attention to this stuff that I feared that I'd started to view them like celebrities and I was only going to this Town Hall to be near it. Instead, my faith that people are willing to stand up for what they believe in and speak truth to power is as strong as ever.  The energy I saw on that campus wasn't isolated if the "fake news" is to be believed.  I  felt something I didn't expect, a renewed respect for Rep. Lance.  He wasn't delusional like Chaeffitz or a bootlicker like Ryan.  Despite shift in power, Lance remained the same even keeled principled man I met several years prior at my first town hall.  He could have stayed in the shadows but he chose to accept his responsibility to his voters.  Maybe it's a strategy for 2018 but for one night at least, I recognized my country.

#Resist

If you want to contact Rep. Lance:
Website: https://lance.house.gov/
Twitter: @RepLanceNJ7
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CongressmanLance/

4 Good Things About the Reign of the Tangerine Cesar (No, Really.)

Warning:  This post contains no alternative facts.

1. Access

He's the most accessible President in history. Whether or not you believe that tweeting is appropriate for the leader of the free world is beside the point. Writing or calling your elected officials (nationally) usually gets you nothing but a nice automated e-mail or one of their staffers if you're lucky enough to get someone to pick up.  Even then, the attention you're paid is usually directly proportional to the size of your contribution to their campaign. With this POTUS, the access is there. You can tell him exactly what you think without having to worry about being tackled by Secret Service, get stuck leaving a voicemail, or trying to explain to some 20 year old that they work for you and not the other way around. And that goes both ways. If you truly want the pulse of the country, his (mis)use of Twitter, Facebook, and the tone of the responses (sans the usual trolls) can give you a better pulse of the electorate than any poll.  For a nation that prides itself on representative democracy, written accountability being instantly accessible to the most powerful man in the world is incredibly important.  Think about it.  The leader of the free world is no more than a tweet away.  For the cynics that think he isn't reading them, take a look at what Sean Spicer, one of the POTUS' attack dogs (White House Press Secretary), says about "the media" during his FIRST press conference.  They not only read them.  They CARE.  Future candidates for any national office would be foolish to ignore this.

They're literally mad...about Tweets.

2. Exposing Our Vulnerabilities

We have the strongest military in the world. No country would dare go toe to toe with us on the battlefield. But the Art of War says that you attack your enemy at his weakest point not his strongest and it's clear that cyber security is our achilles' heel.  Every intelligence agency including the FBI believes that the Russians actively sought to erode confidence in our democracy if not control who we put in office. On the former point, mission accomplished. We have never been more divided about how fair our electoral system is. You have Americans who think of themselves as patriots defending a foreign dictator against other Americans because they disagree politically. The incoming president is picking fights with his own intelligence people.  

.@FoxNews "Outgoing CIA Chief, John Brennan, blasts Pres-Elect Trump on Russia threat. Does not fully understand." Oh really, couldn't do...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017

much worse - just look at Syria (red line), Crimea, Ukraine and the build-up of Russian nukes. Not good! Was this the leaker of Fake News?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2017

Even the FBI, who many say had a much bigger impact than any Russian hack, agrees that we were the victims of foreign interference.  For the record I firmly believe RT America was created specifically for this purpose.  But even if you don't believe Russian interference truly influenced how people voted, the seeds of doubt have been planted.  What better way to tear down your enemy by doing what we've been doing to other countries for decades?  Sew division and mistrust among its people and just sit back and watch the show.  It's obvious that we need to shore up cyber security. Will we? Only time will tell.  A house divided cannot stand.

3. Civics Lessons

If you even halfway paid attention to this election you are more versed now in how our the process works than you were before.  The Democrats, the media, and the Left in general analyzed every legal option they could to stop Trump from taking office to death .  How many of us knew that you could lose an election even if you won the popular vote?  Did you know the Electoral College didn't officially pick the next President until 12/19?  How about that Electors were not always bound to vote for who won their state?  I certainly was never taught that Electoral College itself was a compromise between the federal government and slave-owning states at any level of school.  (My opening argument as to why the system itself is obsolete or in need of serious tweaking by the way.)  The "advise and consent" clause that allows the President to pick a Supreme Court Justice is actually up to the Senate?  And how much will we learn about conflict of interest laws, the actual powers of the President, and its legal limitations before/if/when Trump is impeached?  The first challenge has already been filed.  That doesn't even cover the the scrutiny his billionaire cabinet picks are under thanks to major ethical questions and/or questionable qualifications.  You'll  be a much more informed voter in 2018 (mid term congressional elections) whether you want to be or not.

If you didn't vote, your first chance at a mulligan comes in 2018.  (Provided Voter ID Laws don't require 2 DNA samples and sub-dermal tracking chip by then.)

4. Legal Accountability 

Building on the last point, the President's questionable business income setup will test the Constitution's ethics clauses like we haven't seen since the Nixon Administration.  The upcoming cases against the him will set the legal precedent for all future Commanders in Chief.  Is the White House correct in its assertion that conflict of interest laws don't apply to him?  We're going to definitively know in the next 4 years.  We also now have clarity on what the term "natural born citizen" means in regards to Presidential eligibility.  An early campaign attack Trump, and many on the left as well to be fair, used against Canadian-born Sen. Ted Cruz was to question his eligibility to be President.  Similar to the way he attacked President Obama for 5 years, Trump tried to muddy the waters and claim Cruz didn't fit the definition of a "natural born citizen."

He was rebuffed as Cruz was deemed eligible by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court due to his mother being an American citizen.  That, by extension, means Barack Obama could have been born in the middle of the Serengeti Plain attended to by 12 imams and a witch doctor and was still be eligible to run for President of the United States.

End. Of. Story.  

Who knows?  If we survive this, maybe America can progress enough not think a man or woman with those origins is something to fear but celebrated as proof that America really is for all of us.  Not just "traditional Americans."

The legal challenges this President has left himself open to will definitively settle what we should expect from all future Presidents, legally and ethically for generations to come so the next demagogue can't pull the same crap this one did.