Tag: Donald Trump

Why the DNC Should Target Georgia

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By Michael September 3, 2020 Off

From 1868 to 1964, Georgia, the self-proclaimed peach state, voted Democratic in each Presidential election cycle. In 1968, Georgia broke with nearly a century of voting for Democratic Presidential candidates. That year, Georgia gave its ten electoral votes to American Independent Party candidate George C. Wallace. Then in 1972, Georgia sided with Republican Richard Nixon, before again giving the nod to a Democrat, native son, Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980. read more

Russia, China, North Korea, If You Are Listening

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By Michael June 13, 2019 Off

Russia or China or North Korea, if you are listening to the American President, go out and spy on his Democratic opponents. If you all are listening, call Don Jr. and set up a meeting in Rose Garden. Don loves any dirt you can provide him on Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. Don’t worry about the others, they will soon drop out on their own. read more

Did He Say It or Didn’t He Say It and Does It Matter If He Said it?

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By Michael August 18, 2018 Off

Did Donald Trump say it or didn’t he say it and does it matter if he said it. The it being the “N” word, which stands for you know what, the name given to Black Americans by white Americans when they want to denigrate Black people and to flex their white supremacist muscles.

Trump said he did not say it. Omarosa Manigault Newman said he said it. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she would not be surprised if there is a tape of him saying it. Georgia State Senator Michael Williams says it does not matter if Trump said it years before he became President. read more

Omarosa Stuck in the Craw of Trump

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By Michael August 14, 2018 Off

Try as hard as he might, Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States can’t dislodge a 44 year-old ordained Baptist Preacher from his craw.

Trump was enjoying his summer vacation playing golf at one of his resorts in Jersey when Omarosa Manigault Newman got stuck in his craw with the publication of her book, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House. read more

If Omarosa Has The Smoking Gun Should She Be Heard

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By Michael August 13, 2018 Off

If Omarosa Manigault Newman has the smoking gun which would bring an end to the Trump presidency should she be heard?

I pose this question because on Sunday’s Meet The Press with Chuck Todd, Omarosa said her third book, Unhinged: An Inside Account of the Trump White House (Galley Books, 330 pages, 2018), reveals she witnessed Trump place a sheet of paper in his mouth and chew on it after receiving it from his then fix it attorney Michael Cohen. read more

Why Take Pension Away From Career Civil Servant Andrew McCabe?

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By Michael March 17, 2018 Off

I just don’t get it. What lurks within the heart of a government official who would take away the pension of a civil servant who gave more than 20 years of his life to the government?

It makes no sense to me. Simply cold and heartless is about all I can make of Attorney General Jeff Sessions move to fire Andrew McCabe two days before his full pension vests. read more

A Little Flirt Here, A Little Flirt There

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By Michael December 3, 2017 Off

A little flirt here, a little flirt there plus a couple of decades equals sexual battery. At least this is what the recent rash of “Me Too” moments from back in the day seem to add up to for those who dare to brave the backlash and do the arithmetic.

Actress Angela Lansbury at 92 years of age said as much in a radio interview which was broadcasted in November. According to USA Today, Lansbury addressing the “Me Too” movement opined: “There is two sides to this coin. We have to own up to the fact that women, since time immemorial, have gone out of their way to make themselves attractive. And unfortunately it has backfired on us — and this is where we are today.”

Unfortunately for Lansbury, the social climate does not want to view the other side of this coin. To do so would blunt the thrust of women who are claiming their space in the 21st century. A flirt here and a flirt there may have provided women a safe space in previous times, but not now. Women no longer want to put up with currying favor from men in order to make it in the workplace. Nor should they.

Lansbury drew sharp criticism from the twitter universe for her balanced approached to the age old drama between men and women.

Her critics pointed to the most egregious examples of rape to slap back at Lansbury and anyone else bold enough to get in the way of the “Me Too” avalanche as it gain momentum by the second.

Obviously, a feminist of Lansbury’s legacy, would never condone raping a three month old baby girl, but this is the narrative put forth by Patrica Arquette to shun Lansbury and to ostracize her point of view.

Thus far this movement has mostly claimed liberal entertainers and politicians. Men, who in their public lives have at least promoted the goals of equality for all.

While conservative men, like Donald Trump and Roy Moore, who champion the restriction of women’s rights in particular, seem to be getting a big time hall pass from the “Me Too” movement, largely because, the conservatives thus far implicated in sexual misconduct have flat out lied or called their accusers liars.

The vast majority of men do not prescribe to the Trump philosophy that women are waiting to be touched in their private area by men, or believe as Moore seemingly does, that cruising the mall for high school girls is the Divine Right of a God fearing Christian man.

Yet the universal male gender is placed under a “Me Too” microscope waiting to be judged by today’s changing mores for interpersonal relations that were not challenged years and in some cases decades ago when the alleged conduct occurred.

Notwithstanding the fact that the failure to report was due to fear of retribution or in some cases went unreported to curry favor of some sort at that time.

Which brings us back to the gist of Lansbury’s posit, a flirt here and a flirt there and the poor fellow thinks a particular behavior is okay.

If it was not, hopefully the man comported himself accordingly. If so, end of story. The incident should be left in the past. If on the other hand, something untoward occurred, that is a problem that must be dealt with whenever the victim summons the courage to come forth, no matter how long it takes them to summons that courage.

Leaders of “Me Too” have made their point, women are humans and are not to be objectified by the male species. This paradigm shift must of necessity be codified into the law of the land.

A passing caveat for men: A flirt does not mean she wants intimacy. If that is your goal, you’d best take matters into your own hands and not in the way that Roy and Donald have allegedly done in the past, if you know what I mean.

Harold Michael Harvey is an American novelist and essayist. He is a Contributor at The Hill, SCLC National Magazine, Southern Changes Magazine and Black College Nines. He can be contacted at hmharvey@haroldmichaelharvey.com

Donald Plays Trump Card In Georgia Sixth

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By Michael June 22, 2017 Off

Donald has played the trump card again. This time in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District. He is on a roll. This was the seventh time the Trump card has been played and each time the Trump card has proven to be a winner for the Republicans.

The Donald first played the trump card last summer during the GOP primaries. He won their nomination for president.

The Democrats were chomping at the bit, the saliva was drooping down their cheeks at the prospect of getting Trump in the General Election ring. Their candidate, a former First Lady, Senator and Secretary of Defense was a shoo-in to trounce him in a game of bid whist, a card game popular among African Americans.

She was a shoo-in, that is, until The Donald played the trump card. No one is sure if he pulled this card out of his sleeve, got it from the Russians or whether it came with the hand he was dealt.

What we know is The Donald is, for now, the King of the Hill; and that he has played the trump card in five congressional special elections since winning the White House sweepstakes seven months ago, winning each time he has intervened on behalf of a Republican candidate.

Meanwhile, Democrats find every reason under the sun to explain why they have not won a major election since President Barack Obama won reelection in 2012. Every reason that is that has to do with how corrupt and crooked Donald Trump is, but nary a finger pointing at what they have done to throw the last six federal elections.

Democrats have to come to grips with one salient fact: Donald Trump, the man they like to despise, as unfit to be president, is kicking them in the seat of the pants and enjoying the fact that Democrats do not have a clue about how he is doing it.

Allow me to let you in on a secret: Trump is winning precisely because he is speaking the language of the people he represents, at a time when Democrats are speaking in lofty terms about things that do not speak to the goals and aspirations of their constituents.

Moreover, Democratic party bosses should get out of the business of hand-picking candidates to represent the party. They should allow the natural selection process to run its course to determine what issues the people want addressed.

For instance, three years ago in Georgia, a red state, Democratic Party bigwigs selected a conservative Democrat to run against a conservative Republican for an open senate seat. A lukewarm Democrat is about as useless to a political party as a lukewarm Christian is to the “Kingdom.”

Additionally the Democrat, Michelle Nunn, had not lived in Georgia since she was in middle school and has not been seen in the state since she lost that election to David Perdue. There were qualified Democratic candidates living in the state, who given the financial resources, could have run a winning campaign.

Fast forward to 2017, Democrats in Washington, sent a 21 st century carpetbagger south to run for the open house seat vacated by Rep. Tom Price. But that is not all, not only did the party select John Ossoff, a Georgia native, who had been living in Washington to run for Georgia’s Sixth Congressional seat, but Ossoff failed to set up residence in the Sixth District, opting instead to reside in his parents basement which was outside district lines.

In all fairness to him, the constitution does not require representatives to live in the congressional district they represent, but to do otherwise, smacks of taxation without representation.

Ossoff did not remedy this situation and did not provide any voter education to inform the public that the constitution does not prohibit him from representing the area in Washington.

After Ossoff had spent $23 million – none on voter education – he held a one percentage point lead going into election day, The Donald, pulled out yet another trump card, hitting Ossoff over the head with the fact that he did not live in the district.

In fact had the vote ended in a tie, Ossoff could not have voted to ensure himself the victory. Additionally, Ossoff is another lukewarm Democrat, who took a middle of the road political persona. History records that we are in a period of extreme political rhetoric and he or she who would be elected to public office must of necessity take a hard line stand to the right or to the left of center.

It is blunders like these that keeps Donald J. Trump in control of the bid whist game, which prevents Democrats from bidding no trump downtown allowing the contestant with the lowest vote count to win.

Oh forget the spin, close only counts in horseshoes, not to mention, that it takes a well-run operation to win the close matches and right now, Trump is winning the close bids. This enables him to name the trump suit and to keep the game uptown where the team with the highest number win.

Harold Michael Harvey is an American novelist and essayist, the author of Paper puzzle and Justice in the Round, edited Easier to obtain Than to Maintain: The Globalization of Civil Rights by Charles Steele, Jr.; and the host of Beyond the Law with Harold Michael Harvey. He can be contacted at haroldmichaelharvey.com.

HBCUs Face Trouble In Trump Era

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By Michael December 9, 2016 Off

HBCUs are in trouble. On the last day of the recently concluded campaign to select the nation’s 45th President, Barack Obama, President No. 44, took to the airwaves to exhort African Americans to get out and vote for Hillary Clinton.

He appeared on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Joyner, a graduate of Tuskegee University, hosts annual scholarship drives. He donates the proceeds to HBCUs. The President jokingly told Black voters that if Donald Trump was elected President he was “coming after Michelle’s garden.” He followed this joke with what seemed like another joke. He said that Trump needed to be defeated because the Historically Black Colleges and Universities would be in trouble if Trump was elected.

The reason this statement appeared to be another joke is because in eight years in office President Obama did not lift a significant finger to support the legacy of HBCUs. Last year Hampton University’s President William Harvey (no relations to this writer) scolded President Obama on his lack of support and vision for sustaining the country’s Black Colleges and Universities. Also, the U. S. President squandered several opportunities to save Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia.

Morris Brown lost its ability to receive federal financial aid for its students in 2002 over unstable financial conditions. The school is still standing, but only on one foot. It services 40 students, according to a report a year ago in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Its students graduate without benefit of an accredited bachelor degree. Many of the 100 HBCUs are one fiscal quarter away from where Morris Brown is today.

President Obama was right to sound the alarm. He knows that he is leaving office without tackling the serious issues confronting HBCUs. He knows that if the first African American to serve the country as President did not find the time to place these institutions on solid fiscal grounds, then Donald Trump likely would not find the time either.

During the early stages of the campaign season only Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein raised the issue of protecting these schools. But graduates of these institutions were more intent upon electing the first Democratic woman president, simply for the sake of electing a Democratic woman president, than preserving the higher educational institutions in their communities.

They paid scant attention to Sanders’ and Stein’s planks for sustaining the HBCU educational experience. When it came time for the primary vote, only a few of them cast their ballot for Sanders and less than 10 percent of them bothered to vote for Stein in the general election.

In fairness to Clinton, very late in the summer – long after Sanders’ and Stein’s proposals – she rolled out a $25 billion plan to invest into HBCUs.

President-elect Trump recently unveiled his program for the African American community. In it he plans to protect the Black church. Only God knows what would possess the President-elect to think that the Black church needs to be protected. Perhaps, he thinks that the Black church could be a tool that he uses to keep the African American community in a state of limbo. Whatever his reasoning, his plan does not include protecting HBCUs.

As it turns out, the outgoing President was correct. Trump’s educational policy, especially as it relates to Black colleges, is non-existent. Last week a group comprised of 140 college presidents, some representing HBCUs and some representing historically white private institutions sent a letter to the President-elect asking that he lead the way in creating less bullying and tension among diverse groups in America.

Meanwhile, the three HBCU Presidents, who head up schools in Atlanta – Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Morris Brown College – met several weeks ago to discuss ways to receive more financial aid for their students during the Trump era. They were cautiously optimistic, yet worried.

All three of the Atlanta area college presidents are relatively new to their jobs. Herein lays the crux of the problem at HBCUs. Gone are the days when a college president served 20 or more years. It is difficult for these institutions to raise money when the business community does not sense stability at the top. Many of the problems confronting HBCUs stem from the lack of funding.

Grambling State University in Louisiana has had seven presidents in the last 10 years.

Their last full-time president, Willie Larkins, was fired this summer after completing seven months on his contract.

Alabama State University suspended their President, Dr. Gwendolyn Boyd, last week after two years on the job. Dr. Boyd has been summoned to what essentially amounts to a due-process hearing on December 16 before the schools Board of Trustees, at which time it is expected she will be fired.

At prestigious Tuskegee University, students and alumni have demanded that the board of trustees remove Dr. Brian Johnson over a “warning notice” the university received from its accreditation agency. Chief among the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools complaint is the school failed to submit an audit report of Title IV funds, the life blood of any HBCU. Johnson is in the first quarter of his third year.

The future looked bleak for the HBCUs before Trump derailed Clinton’s dream of shattering the glass ceiling leading to the White House. A bill introduced on March 23, 2016 by Rep. Alma Adams, (D-North Carolina), H. R. 4857, the HBCU Innovation Fund Act, which will set aside $250,000,000 to establish a program to make grants to promote Innovations at historically Black colleges and universities, was given a 1percent change of being enacted by PredictGov. According to its website, PredictGov “provides updated predictions for the more than 9,000 bills currently under consideration, assigning each a chance of being enacted.” This Bill has not come out of committee.

Now, after the election of Trump, the future of HBCUs is very unpredictable. The President-elect was able to campaign without speaking out on the issues. He spent most of his debate time throwing mud on his opponents and little or no time in discussing policy issues. It is anybody’s guess what a President Trump will do to save or push over the edge what began as the nation’s premier schools for the education of African Americans.

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