Render unto Caesar.

" Julius Caesar styled himself as a servant of the republic, claiming to speak for the people even as he disregarded laws and norms to govern by caprice. The Roman republic did not survive him.

The second Trump administration has revealed American Caesarism in nearly full bloom. Despite ambitions to fundamentally change the course of the country, this administration has no real legislative agenda. Instead, the president governs by executive orders, emergency decrees, and extortionate transactions, using his power to reward his friends and punish his enemies. He’s launched foreign military adventures and full-blown wars seemingly based on personal whim, and has made the military a political prop and a tool for domestic law enforcement. With Congress sidelined and the courts reluctant to check Donald Trump’s excesses, America has been left with what some legal scholars have described as an “executive unbound”—and with a president who threatens to supplant the republic in all but name.

Trump’s most fervent supporters justify his approach in terms reminiscent of Caesar’s. The White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has remarked that “the whole will of democracy is imbued into the elected president.” Many Republicans argue that Trump’s policy preferences deserve support because he has a “mandate,” and they heap scorn on the “unelected” judges who have had the temerity to rule against him." {More}

 The excerpt above is from an article in The Atlantic written by  Gregg Nunziata. In it he writes about how the legal right has spent decades empowering the presidency, and how they must now reckon with the monster that they helped to create. As someone who has dedicated his life to studying, practicing, and understanding the law, I shudder at what I see happening in the legal profession. The highest court in the land is controlled by a majority that cares more about the man who put them there than they do the law and upholding the Constitution. 

Mr. Trump is allowed to govern the way he does, because his handpicked court and the feckless right-wing politicians who fear him, will do nothing to stop him. 

I hate to say it, but it's only going to get worse. The war in Iran will not be ending anytime soon, and I fear that by the end of this summer America will be closer to a literal civil war than we could have ever imagined. It's gotten that bad. And the man who is singularly responsible for all this division and turmoil is none other than Donald J. Trump. America's own version of Julius Caesar.  

"Men really believe what they wish to be true"

"If you must break the law, do it to seize power" 

Those two quotes were attributed to Caesar, not  Mr. Trump. But at this point, who can tell the difference? 

Green light red light in the Strait.

 

"War, what is it good for? Absolutely, nothing" ~ Edwin Starr~ 

Before Trump's war, also known as Operation Epstein, most Americans would have thought that the Strait of Hormuz was just the name of a bad Disney movie.  I am pretty sure that the Trump team did not think this war with Iran thing through, because from the way things are shaping up, they never heard of it either. If they did, they would understand how important that tiny stretch of water is to the world's commerce, and how easy it is for the Iranians to control it. 

Trump is dying to get an off ramp to end his ridiculous and pointless war, but the Iranians do not seem willing to give it to him. This past Friday he declared that the Strait of Hormuz is officially open, and that all ships will be allowed to pass through, thanks to the blockade being created by the mighty United States Navy.  But just this evening Iran announced its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. So sadly, those gas prices will not be going down anytime soon.  Reports are now coming out that the Strait of Hormuz is in "absolute chaos ", because Iran is once again firing on ships. 

Autocrats like Trump, of course, love wars. They don't care about the cost of human lives or what it will cost in terms of actual dollars. It gives them a sense of power, and it stifles debate. They view it as another tool in their tool box to hold on to power.  The American people (MAGA cult members excluded) see right through this charade. Most of us know that there is no point to this war, and that after all the carnage, destruction, and money spent; nothing has changed in Iran. Yes, a lot of bombed out buildings, but the Revolutionary Guard is still in control, they still have a large stockpile of  enriched uranium, and  they still control the Strait of Hormuz. So what was the point of all of this?

I will give you a two letter hint: J E. 

The House Negro Power Rankings.

 

The House Negroes have been very active of late. As a result, the House Negro power rankings have to be constantly updated. Here goes.

10. Tim Scott: Timmy is still holding down the tenth spot, because he still refuses to say a negative word about Daddy Trump and his administration.

09. Clarence Thomas: Uncle Clarence will never leave this list.

08. Stephen A. Smith: Still loud, and still wrong. Bu he dropped a little, because he has managed to keep his mouth shut for a few days. 

07. John Maples: Poor John thought he could grift his way to power by getting the endorsement of the MAGA leader. It didn't work. Emily George, a white woman, kicked his ass in the special election for the seat in Dear Leader's backyard. Black folks overwhelmingly supported the white woman over this clown who thought that his blackness would get him some inroads with us. Sorry bro, "all our skin folks ain't our kin folks." 

06. Byron Donalds: Another delusional black man who believes that he will ever get the approval of the MAGA crowd. You're a prop good brother, that's it.  

05. Jason Whitlock: Of course he had something negative to say about Michael B. Jordan winning the Oscar for best male actor. House Negroes are very predictable. 

04. Amber Rose: Another talentless clown looking for love in all the wrong places.  

03. Chili from TLC: She denies being a Trump supporter and retweeting negative things about former first lady, Michelle Obama, but the internet had receipts. To the house you go, Chili. Who is a "scrub" now?

02. Lorenzo Sewell: This black MAGA minister is all in for Trump. This clown said that the Trump presidency is "improving black American lives", and is sticking with Trump no matter what. Somebody check this man's banking history. 

01. Nick Cannon: The Democratic party is the party of the KKK? Take a break from having all those children with multiple women and read a history book . It might prevent you from making an absolute fool of yourself in the future. 

No bottom.

 "Evil people hate the light because it reveals themselves to themselves. ... They will destroy the light, the goodness, the love in order to avoid the pain of self-awareness. ... [E]vil is laziness carried to its ultimate, extraordinary extreme."

M. Scott Peck 

Donald Trump is a truly despicable human being, and not because of his politics or who he chooses to align himself with politically.  I know good people who want the best for this country who are both republican and independents. We differ on how things should be done, but I understand, that  at their core, they are decent, principled, and compassionate. Donald Trump is none of those things. He is a vile, soulless, despicable human being, who thinks only of himself and nothing else. 

See his reaction to the death of Robert Mueller, for example. A man he perceived as his enemy because he was investigating him for crimes he clearly committed against the people of the United States. Mueller never came right out and said that Trump colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, but, as he was duty bound to do, he investigated him. That was enough to draw the ire of Trump. For the record, I was very disappointed in Mueller's investigation of Donald J. Trump. I believe that there was enough there to conclude that he did collude with the Russians, and there was a criminal conspiracy, but Mueller did not see it that way, and while he didn't totally exonerate Trump, he also did not find that there was a conspiracy. That's a shame, because had he found such a conspiracy, we would most likely have been spared the nightmare we are living through as a country. Countless lives lost, billions and billions of dollars spent on a war that no one wanted. The only people who wanted this was was Mr. Trump (He had to keep that Epstein cover-up out of the headlines),  Benji Netanyahu,  and the Zionist who control the Israelis government.  

Sadly, the members of Trump's cult will continue to support him no matter what. Those who were once America first isolationist, are now justifying the war because Iran had to be eliminated because...well, they were bad people. They had the potential to make more nukes, even though Mr. Trump himself assured us that he bombed and destroyed their nuclear arsenal months ago. This was all before more news of his connection to Jeffrey Epstein started trickling out, and his Justice Department was scrambling to cover it up. So he had to  devise a new scheme to distract us. Enter Operation Epstein. Made possible by a cadre of loyalist and a cult made up of folks willing to look the other way. 

“Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” 

That was Donald Trump on the death of Robert Mueller. It will also be a quote from millions and millions of people around the world when the inevitable happens. 

  

Operation Epstein.

 

Happy Sunday field hands.

Imagine being such an evil and contemptible human being that you would literally start a war with another country (one with nuclear capabilities) in order to cover up the fact that you possibly had sexual relations with underaged girls. 

Sadly, I believe that's where we are in America right now. 

Leave your thoughts and comments. 

The House Negro Power Rankings.

 

10. Tim Scott: Still silent when it comes to criticizing his master, Donald Trump. We will see if he remains quiet if any of the citizens he represents in South Carolina have to sacrifice their children for Mr. Trump's war. 

09.  Clarence Thomas: He dropped a little, but Uncle Clarence will always be a mainstay on this list.

08. Jason Whitlock: Still jigging as far as I can tell. Hopefully he can utilize all that jigging energy in a workout routine.     

07. Nicki Minaj: Nicki dipped a little because she has managed to stay out of the news cycle. Knowing Nicki tough, she will be back.  

06. Ice Cube: Still soft shoeing for dollars. All money ain't good money, bro.  

05. Snoop Dogg: See above. A little higher than Ice Cube because he is a bit more popular right now. 

04. Stephen A. Smith: No change for Stephen. He is just as loud and just as wrong as ever. 

03. Van Jones: Playing the bothsidism game on CNN is more dangerous now than ever.  Sadly, no one does it better than Van. 

02. All the Negroes on X (formerly Twitter)  cooning for those Elon Musk dollars: They post crap pretending that we are living in normal times, and that Trump's systematic destruction of America is somehow a good thing for black people. 

01. Wesley Hunt: This clown begged Trump for a job after shining his shoes and making a fool of himself at every turn. Trump, of course, did not help him. He was also delusional enough to believe that conservative white folks in Texas would elect him to be their Senator. That is peak House Negro behavior. 

The Epstein War has begun.

 I have a friend who bought this really nice sports car a few years back, and he wouldn't let his nineteen year old son at the time get within a hundred yards of it. No matter how much the kid begged him, he would say no. He just couldn't trust him with such an expensive and exotic car. 

I was reminded of my friend when I woke up to the news this morning of America and Israel jointly invading Iran. Donald Trump, eager to get the Epstein mess from the headlines, decided that he would put American allies in the Middle East, and the lives of countless individuals at risk. He did this, by the way, without congressional approval. 

The moment Donald Trump got the keys to our very advanced and expensive military apparatus, we all knew that we were in trouble. Like a nineteen year old in control of an exotic sports car, he just couldn't help himself. He had to test it out.  All that power at his fingertips was intoxicating.  Throw in this Epstein mess, and his inability to get it off the front-page, and you just knew something like this was coming. 

"The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war,"

I hear ya Mr. Trump. We know, of course, whose lives will not be lost in such a conflict: That of your sons, or the sons and daughters of your billionaire class friends. So much for being an isolationist and being an "America first" president. I can only imagine what the MAGA cult members are going through right now. This is NOT what they voted for, and yet they cannot abandon their Dear Leader.

Relax MAGA.  Just one more sip of the Kool-Aid and it will all go away.  

The Field Negro Power Rankings. (FNPR)

 

10. Joy Reid: She dropped down a little bit. But she is still out here contributing important social commentary and capturing the zeitgeist of our time.

09. Ryan Coogler: This brother is doing amazing things in cinema and kicking down doors in Hollyweird. Extra points for keeping it real to his Oakland, California roots. I still don't understand what he is saying sometimes, but that's ok. That kind of authenticity is exactly why he is on this list.

08. Wes Moore:  He is still on the list, even though the GOP smear machine is going after him really hard. The current president of the United Sates is so threatened  by him that he singled him to be uninvited to the National Governors Association meeting.  No worries, Wes. That's a good thing.    

07. Don Lemon: "I will not stop now". Good for him. And these bogus charges filed by the felon's justice department will not hold up in court. 

06. Joe Neguse: New to the list, because of his oratorical skills, and the brilliant way he takes down the right-wing hypocrites who come before him in congress. 

05. Ketanji Brown-Jackson: She will stay on this list for awhile, because having a FN on the Supreme Court is extremely important.  Someone has to be there to counter Uncle Clarence. 

04. Jasmine Crockett: All that conservative hate means more FN love. 

03. Dr. Lisa Cook:  Current Federal Reserve Governor who trump is desperately trying to have removed. She is eminently qualified for the job, but she is a black woman, so in the eyes of the racist in chief,  that makes her a threat.  She is fighting back, though, and her case is now before the Supreme Court. 

02. Keith Ellison: The Attorney General of the state of Minnesota has had his hands full fighting off the power play by a regime hell bent on making fascism the norm. He won the latest round. ICE is on their way out of  Minnesota. Sadly, two innocent Americans lost their lives as a result of them being there in the first place.

01. Abby Phillip: Every night she calmly and effectively exposes the hypocrisy of the right on her CNN cable news show. The fact that she routinely has guests like Charles Blow, Bakari Sellers, and Jemele Hill on her show gets her extra FN points.  

 

Monkeying around.

 

A shockingly racist trope (to some) depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife as apes was posted by the current president from his personal Truth Social account, has caused even some of his most loyal supporters to condemn it. Even Tim Scott excused himself from his house duties to write that of all the racist things he has seen from the White House, this was the most racist. (Tim, we would love to hear the second most racist thing you have seen, since you clearly did not condemn them for that.) Those of us who know Trump as the virulent racist that he is, are not surprised at the thoughts going through his head about the Obamas at almost twelve o-clock in the middle of the night. What's surprising is that he would actually post it for all the world to see.  This, to me, is a clear sign that he is suffering from some form of dementia.  

The current president of the United States posting racist memes from the White House about a former president is a horrible look for us as Americans. (And please spare us the lie that it was posted by some "staffer". Unless Trump sleeps with his "staffer" at night, that is not a plausible excuse.) People are mocking us on the world stage, and the usual suspects here in America who support his racist and xenophobic policies, are shocked that he would post something like this so publicly, what many of them say in private.

This is the aspect of all of this that I find amusing: The pearl clutching and shock from legacy media folks and other so called "main stream" Americans.  Where has everyone been for the past fifteen years? Mr. Trump is exactly who most of us thought he was. He kicked off his run for the presidency with a racist lie about Barrack Obama, and he still won.  This should tell us all we need to know about half of the people in this country. Nothing that he says or does matter.  This upset them because he revealed himself in such a public way, and he soiled (both literally and figuratively) the dignity of the office which he holds.    

But, as I have said and written about after every other horrible and horrific thing that this man does: this too shall pass. In  a few weeks days things will all be back to normal, and we will all play pretend that we didn't see that horrific post and picture of the Obamas. Some house Negro (I see you Van Jones) will be on television telling us how presidential he looked after a speech that he read from a teleprompter, and we all will close our eyes to the madness and try to act like any of this is normal.  

Trump, of course, has refused to apologize, which is not surprising, as that would take a modicum of class and dignity. None of which Mr. Trump has. The scary thing is that Mr. Trump has never paid a political price for his racism.  And why should he? A large segment of the voting population agrees with him, and when they are alone in the voting booth they are free to let their true instincts take over. Unlike Mr. Trump, though, there is no tweet in the middle of the night for millions of people to see.

 I have some advice for my white American friends: It might be time to send Grandpa to the attic, before he embarrasses you even more.   

The House Negro Power Rankings.

*

 Kicking off Black History month with my latest House Negro Power Rankings. I am doing this because sometimes the damage from within, is much more detrimental to the long-term empowerment of a race of people, than the damage that comes from outside. 

10. Tim Scott: A slight drop for Tim, but still a powerful HN. A black senator who refuses to call out MAGA will always have major house Negro status. 

09. Candace Owens: Still trying to be relevant by shocking us with her ignorance. 

08. Amber Rose: Before there was Nicki, there was Amber. We know why Nicki is shilling for Trump (She needs those pardons), but what's Amber's excuse. 

07. Ice Cube/Snoop: These two rap legends destroyed their credibility with black folks by saying and doing all the wrong things when it comes to Trump and his MAGA movement. "All money ain't good money".   

06. Clarence Thomas: No commentary needed for this one.  

05. Larry Elder: Another Hall of Fame house Negro who has been jigging for head pats his entire career. Larry coined the phrase: "We gotta country to save".  We sure do, Larry. We have to save it from clowns like you.      

04. Stephen A. Smith: Let's give Stephen some credit. As more and more black folks start to realize what a fraud and grifter he is, he is smart enough to realize that he has to start cooning and catering to right- wingers to save his career and stay relevant.  

03. Jason Whitlock: Jason has been wearing a toupee for a minute now. It must be very tight because it's squeezing out all of his brain cells. Jason likes to come out against black folks no matter what the topic. He does it for clicks and white love. Jason is that dude who women always loathed because he is such a disgusting person inside and out. This  makes him angry and bitter, and it shows in his commentary. 

02. Byron Donalds: Byron considers himself a street smart kid from Brooklyn. To his credit, he has taken his hustle game to another level by becoming a United States Congressman and being in the running to become governor of the state of Florida. He got here by being a world class house Negro and jigging to perfection. Let's see if his party elects him to the highest office in Florida. Sadly for him,  most of them still see him as no different than the other black folks he is trying to distance himself from.

01. Nicki Minaj: This one was easy. Nicki says she loves Donald Trump, and he recently gave her one of those Trump Gold Visa Cards. She has been front and center at MAGA events with him, because in spite of what they like to say, MAGA loves when they can get a celebrity endorsement. Sadly for them, though, Nicki hasn't been relevant as a rapper for sometime. Nicki, I hope it was worth it. You are officially "trash" to black folks now, and that's hard to come back from. Enjoy the house.   

*Pic is  Hoppin Bob from the movie, Life. Long before Stephen from Django Unchained, there was Hoppin Bob.         

The Fuehrer Principle

I understand now how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party became so powerful in Germany, and how,  as president of the party, he was able to rise to power through the "Fuehrer principle". In case you were wondering, the Fuehrer principle allowed Hitler to stand outside of the legal state and decide matters of policy himself.  As I watched puppy killer Kristi Noem defend the actions of those who committed another state killing of a United States citizen on live television, I couldn't help but think how lucky Mr. Trump is to have such devoted sycophants who are willing to suspend disbelief and lie on his behalf. The problem is, of course, that these are state actors who have been granted an incredible amount of power within our government.  They have weaponized the justice department, the military, and agencies like ICE against their perceived political enemies to carry out their sick and twisted agenda.    

Most of us know what the agenda is: To make America white again. The problem is, of course, that they didn't anticipate white people of good conscience defying them, and standing up for what is right and just. The gentleman who those agents murdered yesterday on a cold street corner in Minnesota, was a nurse with the Veterans Administration, and a white American citizen. He was trying to assist a woman who Kristi Noem's agents were brutalizing. It was the second such killing of  white American citizen caught on camera in a matter of days, and most Americans are finally starting to realize that maybe the Fuhrer principle isn't something that we want to be living with in our country.  I say most, because there are still those MAGA diehards who refuse to break away from the clutches of their own prejudices and ignorance to see the truth. It's why they voted to put their own version of the Fuehrer in power in the first place. You have heard this before, and it bears repeating: It's a cult! Donald Trump is their Jim Jones, and they will follow him wherever he leads them. The only difference between  Donald Trump and Jim Jones, is that Trump would have charged the people in the temple at Jonestown for the Kool-Aid. Sadly, I'm pretty sure that his MAGA followers would have gladly paid for it before taking that last sip. 

Like the rest of us, they all watched the video of an innocent American citizen being murdered by state actors yesterday. And yet, they still try to gaslight us with the Trump administration talking points about the killing.  You will see their comments on websites and in chat rooms over the next few days. You will see some of them on this website after this post. They will try to give you the FOX News and White House talking points: The victim was armed, the victim was a domestic terrorist, the victim had a death wish, and on and on.  But the video doesn't lie. Believe your own eyes, not what puppy killer Noem tells you. The man was not threatening those agents when he was shot, he was not a domestic terrorist, and he certainly did not seem to have  death wish.   

The next few days should be interesting. I wish I could say that there will be a change in how this administration and what they are doing to America will be viewed, but I have no faith in the American press, the opposition party, or the citizens of this country to do the right thing. What the Trump administration is doing to this country has not yet seeped into the zeitgeist in a meaningful way. This latest killing will be just another story in the news cycle, and then it's on to the next one. 

One thing I do know is that the more we talk and write about everything else, is the less we will talk and write about Jeffrey Epstein. Which sadly, is just the way the Fuehrer wants it.   

*Pic courtesy of Brandon Bell/Getty Images