Browsing: Opinions

  As a Jamaican-born American citizen who spent 40 years in the US, (writing for the Westside Gazette Newspaper since 1985,) I’m sitting at home in Jamaica celebrating our 62nd independence, our triumphs at the Olympic Games, and the imminent announcement of potentially the next Vice President of the United States by potentially the next President, the American daughter of our Jamaican brother.

       As it turned out, he failed to make a convincing case to most of Black America. He named called. He doubled down on the loss of Black jobs to illegal immigrants. He proved that he was the reigning champion as the Prince of Prevarication. It is commonly believed that all serious politicians lie but no one out-lies Donald Trump. He berated the NABJ for the choice of questions and the lack of a prompt starting time. He knighted himself as the best president to the Black American community since Abraham Lincoln while boasting of Black advancement during his administration. He did not change the channel. He was clear.

    Unbeknownst to millions of MAGA voters, when Trump launched the birther movement, lying that Obama wasn’t a citizen because he was born in Kenya, it went undetected that he was suffering from a form of ‘racist illiteracy. ‘ This term refers to a lack of empathy or knowledge about racial issues, often leading to discriminatory beliefs or actions. How could it be possible that a graduate of the renowned Wharton School of Business School didn’t know that Hawaii was America’s 50th state? This lie constituted the beginning of Trump’s  2016 presidential election racist illiteracy epidemic.

       For too long, Americans have treated Trump as if he is mentally stable, but it is time to acknowledge insanity for what it is. When a person is running for the President of the United States and he is allowed to be weird, the media must call him out. On a regular basis when the candidate behaves on a fifth grade level, the media must tell the truth.

        Serving as your sheriff is a great honor and a tremendous responsibility. Since taking command in 2019, the over 5,500 men and women of the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) have worked tirelessly to bring the best public safety services to our county. We have implemented significant reforms, enhanced operational efficiency, forged stronger community connections, and prioritized accountability and transparency, establishing ourselves as national leaders in public safety.

“Beat Trump” Is the Wrong Message

     Before more than 190,000 men joined a “White Dudes for Harris” call on July 29, the common wisdom parroted by the media is that most white men support extreme right causes and candidates. Not so fast. 

     So, as the presidential election looms, we have to look at what’s at stake, as outlined in Project 2025: “The nearly 900-page document,” Liz Theoharis and Shailly Gupta Barnes write at TomDispatch, “outlines a plan to ramp up U.S. military might, slash social welfare programs, and prioritize ‘traditional marriage.’”

Let’s Think About How to Build a More Peaceful World

  Responding to the announcer’s familiar, “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, please rise for our national anthem,” I stood at a recent baseball game, but Francis Scott Key’s lyrics transported me from the cheerful families around me to distant families, similarly innocent and civilian, besieged in Ukraine and Gaza.