There's Always More Love

I may cuss at yall from time to time but most people know me to be positive all the time. I always have a smile. I always say yes to favors. I always give all that I can. I always find the bright side in every situation. I always choose happiness.

Believe me, it is not easy.

It's taken years of choosing the right friends after years of choosing the wrong ones. It's taken so much trial and error. It's taken trying so many things that don't work to find the ones that do. They say the road to happiness is always under construction. I am forever perfecting my foundation, especially the cornerstone of all that I am. It's never-ending work. It''s certainly the most fulfilling.

Yesterday, again, I felt like giving up on my journey. Today, again, my foundation kept me steady. I was gonna stop saying yes to helping people. I had forgotten why I do it. I had forgotten why do this. I felt like I just didn't have any more to give to anyone. I was over it all.

Quite a few times I've been distracted from my journey. Most recently, the struggles of life and poverty keep coming up to deter me. I've done it all to counter these struggles. I've studied money. What it is. Where it came from. How to get it. How to keep it. Before I get sidetracked from this thought, let me say I've fallen into the rut of the rat race a couple of times. The things, the routine of the things, I did to get money to pay for my dreams blurred my visions and eventually let me to abandon my dreams over and over. The bad part is that they showed no promise of anything even comparable to my dreams. I won't settle. So I haven't.

I have to thank God for the people in my life, the chosen and unchosen, who've kept me on track, physically, mentally, spiritually, financially, emotionally. And I thank them by staying on track. I will make it. For myself but can do no other thing but to share every reward, every milestone, every step, every success with the people who helped me get there.

Everyone is always right on time. The only person I'll name is Brandinika because she ha no social media presence at all. She surprised me last year by reminding me that people not on Facebook read my blog still. I write for them. All three of them. For the timely posts. For the accurate cussings out. For the wise words. For my best friend always reminding me directly to never give up.

Yesterday, I felt I had no more love in me. And at that moment, my foundation showed me a mirror. All I could see was Love.

The Racial Impact of the Racial Impact of Eric Striker: A Year Later, "We Still Need To Talk..."

An interesting discussion about race and music this morning preceded an awesome article on racism and sports. We must continue to talk about race in an open and honest way.

First, music is just another area where some Black Americans want it both ways. They want to keep the music pure and untouched by big business. They also want to commercial success that comes from being recognized and accepted by the mainstream. Plainly, they want the Billboard numbers and the Grammy plaques and when a 'black' artist does that, they want to call that artist a sellout.

Mainstream music is simple. This is America. We are still the model for capitalism. Music is business. American businesses have the goal of selling to as many people as possible, ideally every person. The idea that a business will intentionally ignore 87% of the population (non-black Americans) is ridiculous. The minute an artist signs to a major distribution label, that artist 'sold out.' At the moment the artist signed, that artist committed to selling as many records/albums/downloads to as many people as possible, all 100% of America. In layman terms, that means 'black artists' want to sell to white music listeners. (White Americans being the current majority of the population.) Or, at least, the labels these black artists are signed to want to and those artists contracts say they agree and cooperate with that effort. Labels are preparing themselves for the next majority by signing Latin artists to sing pop songs so they can pass for now and be prepared to switch to catering to the new majority (Latinos) shift happens.

With that being said, we must be responsible in our discussion of race. That we have to discuss race is as certain as all humans needing clean air to breath. That we have to be responsible in that discussion is absolute. The race profiteers will not be tolerated nor entertained. America has no room for people who use race/racism as an excuse to be an asshole. Drug dealers are wrong. Black drug dealers cannot use the 'this is all they'll let me do' argument as an excuse to ruin communities. There are/have been/will be multimillionaire black drug dealers who continue to treat their front businesses like crap. Instead of actually helping their community by going legit; lowering the black unemployment rate to match the national average by hiring and paying above the table; growing their businesses into political powerhouses, these 'men' continually suck the life out of their communities. Drug dealing is just an analogy for black men/women who use race as an excuse for crime.

White Americans can neither determine when the race issue is over nor can they become frustrated when race is brought up. That is not a pass to use racial slurs against White Americans. Responsible discussion does not mean nor includes mud slinging. The fact is the majority of white America has suffered because of the invention of race. No where near as much as any other race but most of white America stands to gain by participating in a responsible discussion of race.

The main racial issue in America is parity. Parity is the final frontier in race. It may be the final frontier in democratic justice. Parity means much more than equality. Parity is a more complete term. Equality means social integration and cultural assimilation, as it pertains to race. Parity is a more than that. Parity means that 'white' schools become integrated but not at the expense of 'black' schools. Instead, 'white' schools AND 'black' schools get integrated and all schools share equal resources. Parity means the end of haves and have nots in the public realm. Parity means that statistics like black business ownership and black unemployment are closer to (if not equal to) the national averages. Parity doesn't require gifts or hand outs from one race to another. It simply needs and open and honest dialogue. This all means that Black America can solve many of its problems on its own. What is needed is a dialogue to erase many of the lingering resentments on all sides. What all races need to understand is that racism wasn't propagated in order to put down one race (or more) to promote another race. That is racism wasn't and isn't for the benefit of White America at the expense of Black America. Racism is about putting down ALL races, creating division and confusion so the rich (1%) can get and stay rich.

The key for America's growth is transparency. We must be able to discuss the merits of a sub-group's philosophies or actions as they apply to the country as a whole. Many militant groups, of all races, are a detriment to the country on their own. A dialogue will provide education and reveal profiteers to each group thereby fostering cooperation towards every group's common goal, the success of the nation. People who have blatant bias and prejudice should be allowed to express.themselves in hopes of gaining a better understanding of other groups. Once we are out and open with each other, we can come together as a nation to hunt out those closet racists and race manipulators who harbor secret feelings and stir up strife/division. We don't want to push racism into the closet. We want to be able to speak/talk about everything. We want to tell those 'white' frats across the country that their sophomoric jokes will not help race relations in the country. We want to hear their explanations then educate them on appropriate statements. After all, these are barely twenty somethings who have yet to experience the world. College students are often the best and brightest our country has to offer but we must always remember they are still learning the best ways to contribute their talents to the world. By making positive examples of incidents like these, we encourage stronger contributions to the racial dialogue.

In towns like Ferguson, MO it is up to all Americans to see that the problems are much bigger than police-community relations. No matter what twists and turns society takes, there will always be laws and men/women appointed to enforce those laws. Probity dictates that the American issue is the quality of our law enforcement and the protocols we are using to fight crime. The issue in Ferguson is race. In Ferguson, we see that the black community is ill prepared to govern themselves as a result of decades of race profiteering. There are some major problems when a locality is not governed in a representative way, especially in a republic. Democracy is not working and we have to ask why. We would not expect a city like Portland. (70% white) to be run almost exclusively by black people including a 99% black police force. That is not to say Ferguson should have an all black police force, city council and mayor but one would expect a more representative government.

Nearly a year later, Eric Striker is out of college and the NFL and Colin Kaepernick has taken up Eric Striker's banner of demanding a dialogue. The resistance is just what we might have expected. In 2016, White-Americans are violently resistant to the idea that they could be racist or related to a racist. At the same, more and more Americans are being exposed as racists.

But we are talking, even if, being that awkward beginning stage, a great deal of people are talking stupid. We have to realize that irrationality is response to change. We tend to be ridiculous in our resistance to change. Change is certainly coming. It will be radical. It will be difficult and it will be painful.

But we will survive. And we will be better for it. 

Not Feeling the Bern: Who's Fault is That?

Let's get to business. I am two things. I am a Black nationalist and I am an American economist. As an economist, I lean towards a structural view of the economy. That means I'm closer to being a socialist than anything else. As a Black Nationalist, I know that neither candidate will do much for the Black community. I don't bemoan The Clinton Crime Bill because crime has to be addressed and its flaws are in the execution which means the bill was not dumbed down enough for law enforcement to properly execute it. 

I am an independent. I haven't decided who I'm going to vote for in the primary. It will either be Hillary or Bernie. (As an independent, my ballot will have both Democrat and Republican nominees on it.)

In May, Hillary Clinton was halfway to the nomination and Bernie was splitting delegates along the way. At best he slowed Hillary down but had no chance of stopping her. Hillary Clinton is going to win the nomination as long as it's close. The Democratic nominee will win the general election. I still have questions. Hillary Clinton has a strong reputation. She also has a short resume. She gets things done but I don't really like her as a person. Bernie Sanders has a long resume. He also has a strong reputation. I mostly wonder why Bernie Sanders hasn't been more successful as a politician. 

To be clear, he's known as the king of amendments. He does get bills passed with little support from Democrats or Republicans. I'm measuring political success as moving forward in your career. So, I'm asking, why so long (six presidential elections) before running for president. Even failed elections succeed bringing agendas to national attention. That's why small party candidates even bother.

That's it. I like Hillary as a politician. She's pragmatic. She's tough. She's moderate. No matter how far to the left or right our friends try to pretend they are, most people are moderate. They are conservative about some things. They are liberal about others. Take an older Black church goer. They are surely generous with social entitlements and they support civil rights. But they are usually economically conservative. They are pro-life. They are against planned parenthood and contraception. I know gay black men who will find at least one issue they're conservative about.

I really like Bernie! He has a strong personality that grows on you quickly. His campaign has a lot of energy. I do wonder though why all that energy and youth in his campaign hasn't manifested a Rock The Vote type push to register new voters and make sure people vote. To be fair, neither has Hillary's campaign but her campaign doesn't have the same energy anyway. And I lean more towards a Socialist perspective than a purely Capitalist one. However, I know that the revolution will not be televised. especially not on a debate stage during the Democratic Primaries...

I am extremely hesitant to jump on the Bernie Sanders bandwagon. The peculiarity of the situation is that it has nothing to do with Bernie Sanders and everything to do with his fans. This is the same everything from Kim Kardashian to Black Lives Matter. It's more apparent because I really do like Bernie Sanders whereas I've been mostly ambivalent to everything else. In short, it's you, my so smart friends, who are turning me off. I am repulsed by the #FeelTheBern political revolution and its implementation. 

During this primary season, some of my smartest most intellectual friends have ignored logic and reason to fully embrace Bernie-mania. He was never meant to win with or without intervention on behalf of Hillary Clinton. He was virtually unknown to most of America. His name was even absent from the mouths and timelines of some of the most gung-ho supporters I know before 2015. COMPLETELY absent. Some of those supporters might say that's OK because they were equally unaware of President Obama before 2008. However, as someone who was aware of Barack Obama in 2004 and Bernie Sanders in 2012, it's not the same. In 2004, Barack Obama gave a speech at the DNC that had Fox News pundits predicting he would win an election in 2008. (FOX NEWS...) Barack Obama is a political insider. 

My final decision is coming down to the supporters. I have never been so ridiculed, attacked and talked down to when discussing politics than I have this year discussing the democratic primaries, with other democratic leaning voters. Correction, I've never been ridiculed, attacked or talked down to by other democratic leaning voters until this primary. I find that is the most ridiculous thing about this election. I say again and again, the Democratic nominee will win the general election. But these Bernie Sibs (Siblings/Bros and Sisses) have gotten crazy. THEY actually have me scared they will do something foolish (like not vote) in the general and give the election to the Republicans.

And that would be the end of the movement. I fear, the movement will end at latest after the general election. It will end because the Bernie Sibs are not the revolutionaries they are pretending to be in 2016. Those that I know are more capitalists than socialists. Firmly entrenched in the bourgeoisie class, they participate in a bit of social welfare but they aren't ready to give up their middle-class status for the revolution. But they're gone change the world in 2016!

...and change it right back in 2017...

Why? Because the Bernie Sibs ain't giving up their comfort! In fact, I had a Bernie supporter tell me they don't believe in the revolution. It's unfortunate that many more Bernie Sibs may feel that way about the revolution. Which makes me wonder why/how they become Bernie Sibs since the revolution is All that Bernie is about. Someone as politically intelligent as Bernie knows the President can do very little to affect the changes he wants. He needs at least 300 congressional seats, quite a few governors, and some major municipalities. That's at least two more election cycles away and half the Bernie Sibs have quit on the revolution and it's not even November.

It's a little discouraging when a general's army quits on him before the war even begins. That's my hesitation in jumping on bandwagons. It's not the driver of the wagon. It's the other passengers. I don't want to ride with yall because I don't trust yall.

Love Bernie!

Not feeling the Bern...

Malcolm X's Independence Speech and Black Nationalism Today

On March 12, 1964, after being censured by the Nation Of Islam, Malcolm X broke his silence with this statement on his beliefs and his plans for his community.

In 1994/5, I performed this speech many times at speech and debate competitions. Mostly I wanted to be different from the Martin Luther King crowd. back then, I thought there was a difference between Martin and Malcolm. I believed there was a split in the Black thought. I chose Malcolm. My journey showed me there could be split. Once I removed divisive thoughts from my perspective these words made a lot more sense.

After twenty years of forgetting theses words and not seeing them, today I am amazed at having developed a much deeper understanding of Black Nationalism that leads me back to these words...

This is everything I've learned and believe in as it pertains to Black Nationalism. It seems very timely given the atmosphere today...

Because 1964 threatens to be a very explosive year on the racial front, and because I myself intend to be very active in every phase of the American Negro struggle for human rights, I have called this press conference this morning in order to clarify my own position in the struggle, especially in regards to politics and nonviolence.

I am and always will be a Muslim. My religion is Islam. I still believe that Mr. Muhammad's analysis of the problem is the most realistic, and that his solution is the best one. This means that I too believe that the best solution is complete separation, with our people going back home, that is, to our African homeland.

But separation back to Africa is still a long-range program, and while it is yet to materialize, 22 million of our people who are still here in America need better food, better clothing, better housing, better education and better jobs right now. Mr. Muhammad's program does point us back homeward, but it also contains within it what we could and should be doing to help solve our own problems right now while we're still in America.

But internal differences within the Nation of Islam forced me out of it. I did not leave of my own free will. But now that it has happened, I intend to make the most of it. Now that I have more independence of action, I intend to use a more flexible approach toward working with others to get a solution to this problem.

I'm not out to fight other Negro leaders or other Negro organizations. We must find a common approach, a common solution, to a common problem. As of this minute, I have forgotten everything bad that the other leaders have said about me, and I pray they can also forget the many bad things I've said about them. The problem facing our people here in America is bigger than all the other personal or organizational differences. Therefore, as leaders, we must stop worrying about the threat that we seem to think we pose to each other's personal prestige, and concentrate our united efforts toward solving the unending hurt that is being done daily to our people here in America.

I am going to organize and head a new mosque in New York City, known as the Muslim Mosque Incorporated. This gives us a religious base, and the spiritual force necessary to rid our people of the vices that destroy the moral fiber of our community.

Our political philosophy will be black nationalism. Our economic and social philosophy will be black nationalism. Our cultural emphasis will be upon black nationalism.

Many of our people aren't religiously inclined, so the Muslim Mosque, Incorporated, will be organized in such manner to provide for the active participation of all Negroes in our political, economic, and social programs, despite their religious or non-religious beliefs.

The political philosophy of black nationalism means: we must control the politics and the politicians of our own community. They must no longer take orders from outside forces, and we will organize, and sweep out of office all Negro politicians who are puppets for these outside forces.

Our accent will be upon youth. We need new ideas, new methods, new approaches. We will call upon young students of political science throughout the nation to help us. We will encourage these young students to launch their own independent study, and then give us their analysis and their suggestions. We are completely disenchanted with the old, adult, established politicians. We want to see some new faces, more militant faces.

Concerning nonviolence: it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks. It is legal and lawful in this country to own a shotgun or a rifle. We believe in obeying the law. In areas where our people are the constant victims of brutality, and the government seems unable or unwilling to protect them, we should form rifle clubs that can be used to defend ourselves and our property in times of emergency, such as happened last year in Birmingham Alabama, in Plaquemine, Louisiana in Cambridge, Maryland and in Danville, Virginia. When our people are being bitten by dogs, they are within their rights to kill those dogs. We should be peaceful, law-abiding—but the time has come for the American Negro to fight back in self-defense whenever and wherever he is being unjustly and unlawfully attacked. 

If the government thinks I am wrong for saying this, then let the government start doing its job.

Sloan Enterprises LLC Mission

A man named Jay Franklin planted a seed. A man named Albert Sloan watered that seed. A man named Jay Sloan took control; cultivated the soil, fertilized and grew that seed into a tree. Jay Sloan developed a vision of growth and giving that will certainly be the legacy of he and Sloan Enterprises LLC

A chess player sees three moves ahead. A chess master sees the whole game. Similarly, a master of life sees far beyond the next few generations towards eternity. From one generation to the next S.E.LLC seeks to grow and maintain traditions which will last until the end of time. 

Sloan Enterprises LLC's mission is to sustain a legacy of growth and giving to the next generation, eternally. 

Journal 9/11/15 - Cooperation

There is only one right way to do things and or get things done. That's cooperation. That's God's way. By connecting spiritually with others we see that although we may seem very different, we are all on the same team. Even if you know your way is God's way, "my way or the highway" will never work.

Cooperation means that God's way will look different in the hands of each different person.

We operate in the spiritual realm. We have no idea nor control over how that translates in the physical realm. The struggle is to look beyond what eyes see to the spirits of people.

In 2016, with all the various movements going on, the only thing missing is cooperation. Boycotts, marches, voter drives, schools, armed resistance and economic movements all fail because they work separately. In 1965, the opposite was true. Not only were all those movements working simultaneously, they were all cooperative. At best, organizations worked together and supported each other. At worst, organizations/individuals who disagreed stayed out of each others way.

Malcolm X, Dr. King and Huey Newton became threats because of their approaches to universality. Huey Newton made great strides for the Panthers being open to working outside organizations/movements. Malcolm X and Dr. King made great efforts to work together before X's death. Dr. King was, of course, the master of cooperation. His network eventually became too big and so he was too dangerous. BLM and Shaun King have nothing to worry about. Modern day activists never have to fear assassination because they're all one trick ponies who refuse to work with each other.

Maybe they know that and would prefer a weakened movement where they get to live. Maybe by living longer they can be more effective. Maybe a weakened movement will eventually erode the old institutions of oppression. 

Invasion of the Malcolm Flexes: Hotep in Jail, On The Streets and In Your Community

In Jail/Prison I call them Malcolm Flexes. In the "Freeworld," we have Dr. Umar Johnson...

I can talk about spoiled broke kids all day every day for twelve years straight and I will still be amazed when I see them in the flesh. 

I called him Malcolm Flex because he would talk like he was ready to incite a riot (certainly not a revolution) when he was around the inmates. "I ain't workin for free. They can just take me to the hole now!" but when he was around the guards, "Yessir! Right away sir!"

What Malcolm Flexes do is bombard you with topical analyses of Black people's status in America. They provide little additional insight or solution to the problems. In the rare occasion they do provide solutions, they are are usually poor facsimiles of failed plans. They're only update to regurgitation of past failures is to "Wake everyone up". People like that are dangerous because someone may take them serious. Worst of all, it's our young men (18-25) with all the energy and no direction who take that as guidance and head down the wrong road. The irony of it all is that all that flexin' is just a racket, a new way for spoiled broke kids to keep shirking responsibility past adulthood.

Back to this yahoo:

He came to the work pod on a Friday afternoon and spent the entire weekend telling any inmate who would listen that he wasn't going to work for a few extra sandwiches. He was going to tell them straight up "Buck this!" Come Monday, he was working like a champ. Come to find out, he was just waiting on his paperwork to clear anyway. He ended up only working two days before he was released. He still spent $38 on store (must not have been his money). He yelled at the store man because they wouldn't sell him Seven danishes. (Who needs seven danishes for two days?) I asked him if he got his money back. He did. I told him to go home and buy some danishes at the real store. The crazy man was still hoarding sandwiches and chips the day he got released. They called him to pack it up right after lunch, the day after he got his store. I'm sure he tried to take as much jail food as possible home with him.

In two days to go from rants about how Store is a rip off and the food in jail is poison to hoarding jail food to take with you out into the free-world is typical Malcolm Flex behavior. Their goals are both to hide within the safety of the conscious community and to profit from the continued discrimination and oppression of Black America. These men and women are the infiltrators. They are in our jails, on the streets, in our communities. We pay them to tell us what's wrong with our communities. They do little more than make us feel better about our suffering. The irony is that some of the biggest profiteers constantly attack the church for doing the same things they do. Pacify us so they can continue to profit. 

We flock to cities like Atlanta as the Black American mecca, but the invasion has made it's way there as well. Dekalb county is the epitome of a Malcolm Flex messing up the community. To be clear there are far more than one in Dekalb County. I've seen how corrupt officials are in this county from top to bottom. We could have a good thing in Dekalb. Crooks steal pennies instead of building wealth.

They get there because we don't vet leadership. They stay because we pay as much attention to them as we do the career congressmen who camp out for 20 years or more running unopposed, dependent on the laziness and comfort of the general public. Just like the raggedy assed relationships so many of us find ourselves in, they only had to make us feel good for the first two weeks. After that, they can ruin our lives with stagnation indefinitely. Like a parasite.

In this time of change, a time of growth, we must be careful of the Malcolm Flexes. They are indeed parasites. They know they cannot exist in the new world. That's why tend to have some extremely conservative views when pressed. They are unable to survive without our support.That's why they constantly try to distract us from their blood sucking. And they do little more than exist. All their talk is for naught. There is very little action. There IS a lot of "passion." Just think National Action Network and the charisma of Al Sharpton. What has the multi-million dollar non-profit produced in 40 years? Diddly squat beyond piss poor resolutions, a bunch of Jaw Jacking, and, of course, millions of dollars.

The bottom line is they can't come.

You want to spot a Malcolm Flex? Just do stuff. They won't be there. They'll talk. They'll talk. They'll talk some some. But when it's time to roll, they will not show up. Their actions will produce little in the way of results, if anything at all. You find yourself wondering, just say "Let's go!" They won't go. Want to get rid of them? Move. Grow. Create. Build. They are the easiest parasites to get rid of but the hardest to spot. If you find yourself in the middle of a potential Flex Plan, ask yourself "Is it working?" If not, do something that works.

Breaking the cycle requires real commitment to change. Be different. Do different things. Find things that work. Grow. Move. And shake the Malcolm Flexes. They hate it when you do stuff.