Month: February 2016

Why Do Blacks Not Feel The Bern?

By Michael February 22, 2016 Off

Why do Blacks not feel “The Bern,” a twitter connection from my hometown of Macon, Georgia tweeted me the other day?

“Why are Blacks supporting the HRC Machine,” he tweeted. “I don’t get it. Can you explain? Is it the Jewish thing or the not electable argument?” read more

Tuskegee Alumns:”No Confidence”

By Michael February 20, 2016 Off

ATLANTA, GEORGIA CASCADE PRESS (CP)

On Saturday, the Atlanta Tuskegee Alumni Club issued “a vote of no confidence” on both university President Brian Johnson and the Board of Trustees. The group is unhappy with the state of affairs at Tuskegee University.

On one motion, the Atlanta Alumni Club voted 36-2 to issue “a vote of no confidence” on the manner in which President Johnson is discharging his duties at Tuskegee. Then they voted 32-2 to send “a vote of no confidence” to the Board of Trustees, due to their failure to properly oversee the operation of the university. read more

The Bern In The House

By Michael February 18, 2016 Off

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, CASCADE PRESS (CP)

The Bern was in “The House” on Tuesday this week. “The House” is Morehouse College. For years students and alumni have affectionately dubbed it as simply “The House.” The welcome mat was laid out for Bernie Sanders, affectionately named “The Bern” by a host of loyal followers and supporters of his chaotic run for the White House. read more

Sanders Vows To Win Georgia

By Michael February 17, 2016 Off

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, CASCADE PRESS (CP)

Bernie Sanders vows to win the Georgia Presidential Preference Primary which will be held on March 1. Sanders made his pledge to win in Georgia during a campaign stop on his Historical Black College and Universities (HBCU) Tour on Tuesday at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. read more

I Am Not Saying Lewis is a Sellout

By Michael February 12, 2016 Off

I am not saying that John Lewis is a sellout, or that John Lewis is an Uncle Tom for “dropping the mic” on Bernie Sanders. Neither am I suggesting that Lewis is a liar as some have strongly intimated over recent comments he has made in support of the Clinton’s involvement in the civil rights movement during the 1960s. However, I do believe that John Lewis does not get to define who was or was not an active participant in the civil rights movement. read more

Harvey Amazon Bestselling Author

By Michael February 7, 2016 Off

Amazon has a new bestselling author. Just added to the list of Amazon bestselling authors is Harold Michael Harvey.

Cascade Publishing House (CPH) is pleased to announce that Justice in the Round: Essays on the American Jury System is the number one bestseller on Amazon in the category of books on discrimination and racism. Additionally, it is the number one bestseller in the categories of law, procedure, litigation and juries. read more

Octavia Vivian: A Tribute

By Michael February 6, 2016 Off

“Hello,” Mrs. Vivian said answering the telephone in a soft, sweet voice full of life.

“May I speak with Dr. Vivian,” I said.

“He is traveling,” the wife of 59 years replied.  “I will have him call you.”

 

That was four weeks ago and my last conversation with Octavia Vivian.  In the twenty years, we have been neighbors I have had several hundred conversations with her husband, Rev. Dr. C. T. Vivian, many in her presence; yet seldom did she interject herself into the conversation.  She would leave us to our intellectual discussions, our intellects free to roam and explore resolutions of war and peace, and full participation in the American dream.  Such was the sweet spirit that was and will always be Octavia Geans Vivian.  Three weeks later we gathered to give her our final goodbyes. read more

Stick A Fork In Trump-He’s Done!

By Michael February 4, 2016 Off

You can stick a fork in Donald J. Trump, he’s done. Yes that right, he’s done. He’s done, not medium rare done, but left in the oven too long done, in short, he’s done, as much as any of the candidates who dropped out of the Republican primary this week.

If you like the taste of roasted fowl, slice a piece from his prodigious veneer, because he’s done. Like an over roasted fowl, he’s done, And just as adding loads of gravy to that dried out carcass will not enhance the flavor of the bird, not even many visits to American factories  or farms (where the real people are) will help Trump.

His run for the presidency of the United States is just about over. It was in some instances, an entertaining production of reality television. Yet Trump’s time upon the stage is heading toward a curtain call. One in which very few will remain in their seats to applaud his bow to the audience.

The signs of Trump’s impending doom are everywhere he goes of late. There were indications at his news conference following his lost to Ted Cruz in the Iowa Caucus on Monday, in his twitter blasts on Wednesday, and in his rally in Little Rock Wednesday night. I suspect evidence of the implosion of his campaign is popping up somewhere as I type this piece.

The Trump campaign goes to show that you can fool narrow-minded people all of the time, but you can not fool a sufficient number of “Corn Belt” free thinkers to accept your narrow-minded views.

Also, after next week’s New Hampshire Primary, it will become apparent that you can not fool “Granite State” independent minded people either. Usually, thinkers make decisions based upon facts and not emotions. His campaign has largely been fueled by the emotion of hate and division.

On Monday night, Trump in his concession speech, lashed out at Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, telling his supporters that it was not certain that Clinton would be in the race much longer. Trump was hinting at the FBI investigation into Clinton’s private email account that she set up to transmit communication for her job as Secretary of State. This was exactly like a kid throwing a temper tantrum in the sandbox, “If I can’t win, “Trump seemed to be saying, “then Hillary I’m taking you down with me.”

For a political newcomer, Trump is a masterful mud thrower. He knows just how to sling mud at his opponents to taint their reputations and turn positive attention away from them. Admittedly, Clinton’s email server issue is not going away. It will dog her all the way to Philadelphia and into the General Election if she survives Bernie Sanders and the young revolutionists propelling his campaign.

His recent attacks on Ted Cruz can be viewed in this same light. “If I am not going to get this nomination,” he seems to say, “then you Ted Cruz will not get it either.”

Certainly, there may be merit in Trump’s claim that Cruz used “dirty tricks,” to secure the lead in Iowa. The communication that Cruz’s campaign sent out intimating that Dr. Ben Carson was suspending his campaign seems to bear out Trump’s contention. Not only that, Trump’s charges regarding voter irregularities by the Cruz Campaign may have some juice.

The intent is not to prove his allegations, but to taint Cruz’s image on Trump’s way out of the campaign.

He has a pretty good idea now that he no longer has the love of the people and that one by one, one primary after another, he is about to get his feelings hurt in a big way. Trump’s psyche for some reason, needs to feel that he is loved by masses of people. This thought comes through many of his speeches.

He has no one to blame but himself for his sudden drop in popularity. He may be able to shoot someone in New York City and the people will still love him, but he can not thumb his nose at voters by not appearing at a debate and expect those people to continue to embrace  his divisive brand of politics.

Stick a fork in him, he’s done!

Harold Michael Harvey is an American novelist and essayist, the author of Paper puzzle and Justice in the Round. He can be contacted at haroldmichaelharvey.com.

 

Sanders-Clinton Even After One

By Michael February 3, 2016 Off

The Sanders-Clinton battle for the Democratic nomination is virtually even after one inning. With 44 unpledged delegates to this summer’s National Democratic Convention in Philadelphia up for grabs in this week’s Iowa Caucus, the Sanders-Clinton battle lived up to  pundit’s recent expectations.

Clinton received 49.8 percent of the vote. When this total is rounded off to its nearest tenth, she received 50 percent of the ballots cast. Sanders received 49.6 percent, which gives him a 50 percent total too, when rounded off to the nearest tenth.

This is about as close as any race can be at the conclusion of the first inning of play. For her slight edge in Iowa, Clinton will receive 23 delegates and Sanders will receive 21.

According to Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight.com, Sanders has a 91 percent chance of winning in inning two, which will be played in New Hampshire next Tuesday. Silver bases his projection on results from 65 polls. Based upon the ten most reliable polls, Sanders percentage of victory in New Hampshire will be 56.8 percent of the vote. This will distribute the state’s 24 delegates as follows: Sanders 13 and Clinton 11.

Silver says that Sanders will have to do more than tie Clinton to gain any advantage. Here is why:

If Sanders ekcs out a mere 56.8 percentage point victory, his 13 delegates when added to the 21 he received in Iowa will come to 34. The same number of delegates that Clinton will have coming out of New Hampshire, when her 11 delegates are added to her Iowa total.

In this event, Sanders-Clinton fight will head to South Carolina deadlocked with 34 delegates each. The winner will need 3,636 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination.

South Carolina has a total of 53 delegates who are not pledged to either candidate. According to Silver, Clinton has a 94 percent chance to defeat Sanders in the Palmetto state. Taking an average of the percentage point margin of victory in the top ten polls in the South Carolina contest, Clinton will receive 65.1 percent of the votes. Accordingly, she will receive 34 of the state’s delegates, with 21 going to Sanders.

Given this scenario, Clinton will emerge from inning three with 68 delegates to Sanders 55. This gives her a 13 delegate lead going into the fourth inning Super Tuesday donnybrook .

The Democratic race is coming down to Super Tuesday, more commonly called the SEC Primary because of the number of states who have state universities competing in the Southeastern Conference. This is something that Sanders has been banking on, but not what Clinton had in mind last year, when she launched her inevitable run for the White House.

There are a total of 455 delegates at stake on March 1. The largest contingent of delegates selected this day will come from Georgia with 102, followed by Massachusetts with 91, Minnesota 77, Colorado 66, Alabama 53, Arkansas 32, North Dakota 18 and Alaska with 16.

After March 1, the race for the Democratic nomination should come into clearer focus.

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/new-hampshire-democratic/

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/bernie-sanders-needs-more-than-the-tie-he-got-in-iowa/

http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/election-2016/primary-forecast/south-carolina-democratic/#polls-only