I have one white son and, for the past seven years, three grown black step-sons. I married a beautiful black woman from the Caribbean island of Dominica seven years ago. One of my step-sons lives here in the U.S. – Northern California. One lives in Mexico City. And the last one still lives in Dominica. However, he is moving here to Phoenix, Arizona to go to university in a couple of months. My three step-sons grew up in a country without the issues associated with racism. Why? Because nearly everyone in Dominica is black. So, when they come to America, they see it from a different perspective ..read more

Governor Ralph Northam clearly does not have a current record that shows him to be, in any sense of the word, racist.  However, he did something that was stupid. That said, it was not unforgivable.  But the way he handled it made it unconscionable, therefore, he must resign. Dumb Clearly, dressing up in any outfit deemed racist is just plain dumb.  We have seen pictures of white men and women wearing blackface and dressing up in Ku Klux Klan outfits for Halloween far too often.  Clearly, it is even dumber to let someone take a picture of you dressed in such a manner. For ..read more

Waiting for the Buses Imagine this:  You are a conservative Trump-supporting MAGA hat-wearing teenager.  You go to Washington D.C. for a March for Life event with your Catholic High School.  Most of your trip goes uneventfully until you get to the Lincoln Memorial and you are waiting to leave with your fellow classmates. You are standing waiting for your buses, so you really can't just walk away, because to walk away would mean confusing your bus drivers.  All of a sudden, these men start taunting you, calling you "incest babies" and "future school shooters." To counter t ..read more

Lately, I have been seeing many tweets attributing positions to candidates who have evolved from those viewpoints.  I get it; they don't seem as good as the candidate of YOUR choice.  But how can you expect me to come over to your way of thinking if you won't even be honest about another person's viewpoint.  As people, we are in the unenviable position of being able to destroy another person by shedding them in the wrong light. Lyndon Baines Johnson ruined the life and career of undoubtedly one of the best liberals that ever lived, Leland Olds.  He did this by creating ..read more

As at least 400,000 American government workers face their first Friday without a paycheck, it doesn't hurt to stop ourselves just for a moment and ask, "Are we doing this right?"  After all, this is a poker match being played by major characters leaving unpaid government workers as spectators to fend for themselves.  They don't even appear to have a voice. President Donald J. Trump would have you believe that he doesn't really care about their "silly" problems, all he cares about it getting the southern border wall he promised his base even though it doesn't do anything that the ..read more

It is so great to be here in the great state of Arkansas at the southern border Steel Slats!  (boos) What's that?  Oh Texas, yes, I mean Texas.  Such a great state.  You know what my cabinet calls them?  They are so nice.  They call them Trump Steel Slats! (cheers) I've been given some bad news, folks.  I've just spoke with our great Homeland Security Head Honcho, Kirstjen Nielsen.  (cheers) Yeah, yeah.  She is a great gal.  A great blonde gal.  Isn't she though. Anyway, she gave me some bad news.  But first I just want to say ..read more

Both are highly inappropriate terms. (Which is why I don't spell them out!), however, one is more wrong because of the message it sends and the intention behind it. "Impeach the M****** F*******" does not mean what it sounds like.  This is a phrase that was used in anger toward another person.  It is not implying that the intended recipient is actually a MFer.  Additionally, the term does not dehumanize the target. "Grab them by the p*****" on the other hand, means exactly what it says.  This is misogyny at its peak.  It actually dehumanizes the individual referred ..read more

Last week, I showed how the military could see Trump's lies in their own paychecks.  Then, I realized, it doesn't matter that he lied about that to his own supporters.  I needed to find something that his supporters find so reprehensible that they can't possibly show their support for him anymore.  Then, I realized, I don't want to do that either. What I really want is for Trump to run for president in 2020.  Why?  Because if he is impeached (by the House and convicted by the Senate), anyone who replaces him is clearly going to be a better candidate runnin ..read more

On MSNBC, Joy Reid had a great interview with Nancy Pelosi.  At about the 2:50 mark, she answers an equally excellent question from Ewaloua Ogundana.  The gist was, how do you handle the "mansplaining?" At the risk of sounding like I am mansplaining, I thought I'd give my two cents worth as an OWL Guy  If you think I am mansplaining, stop reading anytime!  It is not my goal to offend, just to give perspective. The points that Nancy Pelosi made: Don't let misogyny stand in your way. (my words, not hers) Know your power. Know your "Why." Why are you interested in whatever y ..read more

Like the 291 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who voted before her, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka @OAC) rose to announce her vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House. Unlike the 291 members before her, she was booed. An additional 143 members rose to vote and did not receive the same treatment. I could barely contain myself as I screamed at my television in that sad and disgusting display of misogyny. Who booed?  Well, the boos came from the Republican side of the room.  The Republican side of the House of Representatives is made up of nearly 90% white men.  ..read more