Tag Archives: Mind of Brosephus

Paper Democracy

Posted on by under education, Election 2022, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary, voting rights

As usual, blogging friend Brosephus sees clearly the situation at hand, the loss of democratic underpinnings in this nation, the loss of voting rights and women’s rights, among others. We are what Brosephus aptly calls a ‘paper democracy’. Thanks, Bro, for these wise words …

The Mind of Brosephus

America is a paper democracy, meaning it’s a democracy in name only. It’s been that way from the founding of the country and has stayed the course throughout our history as a nation. We’ve flirted with real democracy for short periods of time like during Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Era. Each time we’ve come close, the country reverses progress and returns to being paper.

For those who are unaware, the terms “real” and “paper” as well as the intended meaning in this post are borrowed from the Divine Nine culture, or the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC). When a member is considered as real, they have gone through the pledging rituals, put in the time/effort, and did the requisite work to earn their membership in their respective Greek Letter organization. Paper members are more likely to have paid their fees, learned their history, and received their letters without the grueling…

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When Conservative became Noservative

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Election 2020, Election 2022, Environmental Issues, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Our friend Brosephus shares his thoughts on today’s Republican conservatives, or ‘noservatives’ as he so aptly dubs them. What, he asks, has happened to the Republican Party in the past decade or two? Where is the party that actually DID something instead of simply trying to put roadblocks up for the other party? Brosephus’ post is one well worth reading and pondering. Thank you, Brosephus!

The Mind of Brosephus

Cover of Time Magazine from March 21, 2016

There’s been several topics that have popped up that I haven’t had the time to write about. Most times, these topics usually get discussed in the comment section. I appreciate that because I don’t always have the time to post a new topic to address recent events to allow “on topic” commenting.

That said, I happened to come across the above Time Magazine cover, and I think it asks a very important question that we don’t discuss enough. What happened to the Republican Party? I’m talking beyond the personality cult it’s become with the sole intent on pissing off liberals. What happened to the ideas and guiding principles of conservatism?

For example, let’s discuss immigration for a minute. Conservatives will whine and bitch to no end about how immigration is a problem and there’s a border crisis going on. We’ve been hearing…

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What if…

Posted on by under Election 2020, Election 2024, guns, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, voting rights

Last night, I read Brosephus’ latest post shortly before going to bed — warning: do NOT make this post your bedtime reading! Brosephus paints a chilling scenario, one that ten years ago I would have laughed off as fiction, but one that today … I’m no longer laughing. We must do everything in our power to ensure that there is no possibility of this happening, and the first step is to protect voting rights … hear that, Congress???

The Mind of Brosephus

Screenshot of the WSBTV app @ 3:21pm 7/11/21

After watching the GOP evolve (devolve depending on your perspective) into a hard right authoritarian party, I’ve convinced myself there are two types of conservatives. There are the puppeteers consisting of groups like the Federalist Society, Fox News and others. Then, there are the puppets which is basically everyone else. This specific grouping is a topic for another post, but kinda relevant to the scenario that just popped into my head.

While sitting on my back deck and enjoying a summer breeze, I logged into the app pictured above, and that’s the image that greeted me. Notice the top 3 stories AND the red banner? Yeah, I did to. That got the gears in my head to spinning at about 12,000rpm, well beyond the redline of 10,000rpm. *(Just glad that I didn’t burn my brain down in the process…)

Anyway, travel with…

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A Brother’s response to Sen Manchin’s OpEd

Posted on by under Election 2022, Election 2024, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, voting rights

I read Senator Joe Manchin’s OpEd in the Charleston Gazette-Mail and, like our friend Brosephus, under ordinary circumstances I would have agreed with most of what he said. However, these are anything but normal circumstances and even more so for Black people who are once again in danger of losing their rights. Please take a minute to read Brosephus’ post and think about what he says — it’s important! Thank you, Brosephus!

The Mind of Brosephus

Sen. Joe Manchin, I read your Op-Ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail, and I have a few questions for you. You are well within your rights and responsibilities as a member of the Senate representing West Virginia with your concerns over the filibuster. In a perfect world, I think your arguments would have merit. In case you haven’t been paying attention for the past decade or so, we don’t live in a perfect world. In fact, Black Americans have never been within an Apollo rocket shot reach of a perfect world in America.

You may or may not be aware of the particular struggles of Black Americans, but I can assure you life here for us is no Saturday morning picnic. Our right to vote in America was enshrined into the Constitution in 1870 by the Fifteenth Amendment. It wasn’t until the passage of the Civil Rights Act…

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America’s longest war

Posted on by under education, Free Press Issues, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

I wrote yesterday about the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre which has been largely buried in the history of this nation for 100 years. I was aware of some other similar events, but I have to admit that even I did not realize just how prevalent the attempt to cover up the darkest moments in our history is. And … it’s not only our history, but even today there are those who would bury the truth about the horrible racism in this nation. Our friend Brosephus has written of ‘America’s Longest War’ and he is quite right … Black people in this nation have been fighting for their survival since the nation’s founding. Please take a few minutes to check out his links, especially the partial listing of incidents where Black people were literally eradicated from governments, towns and cities. I hang my head in shame of what this nation has done to its OWN CITIZENS!!! Thank you, Brosephus, for bringing this to the forefront … we must ALL become more aware and we MUST stop this white arrogance NOW!

The Mind of Brosephus

Photo via CBS News/60 Minutes

May 31,1921 is a day that has lived in the minds of Black America for 100 years. Now, the rest of the world is beginning to come to grips with what it has been like to live Black in America. The Greenwood Neighborhood was one battle in what has been America’s longest war, the war against Black America.

I can already hear the huffing and puffing that I’m making this up, but if you’re not a Black American, the odds are that you’ve never heard of the following incidents linked here. This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the attacks that Black America has suffered. There are many that never get talked about and have been swept under the rug of revisionist history in America. As one former Attorney General said about history, “history is written by the winners, so…

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January 6th Commission

Posted on by under Election 2020, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary

It is beyond the scope of my imagination why anybody would try to stop an investigation into the attacks and attempted coup that took place in the Capitol on January 6th. To ignore this is to ask for it to be repeated, perhaps next time by people with brains who will be successful. Members of our own government were involved in a number of ways and we MUST know who they are, their level of involvement, and OUST them from their leadership roles. And yet … the Republicans led by Mitch McConnell are doing everything in their power to block or dilute such an investigation. Why? Because they are afraid their own roles may be exposed? I’ll let Brosephus give you his views, which I fully share, on the issue. Thanks, Bro!

The Mind of Brosephus

Getty Images via Aljazeera.com

Let’s discuss the idea of a January 6th Commission. There’s no doubt that a deep investigation into all things surrounding the insurrection that occurred in Washington DC is warranted and required if we wish to maintain our democracy. This was a direct attack on the Constitution itself as the plan was to disrupt a process laid out within the Constitution to certify the winner of the presidential election. I don’t think it is as much of an if it will happen question as it is a when will it happen.

There has to be accountability for all people responsible. This includes those pictured above who marched on the Capitol Building, those who attacked police officers, as well as those who encouraged and financially supported the entire fiasco. As history has taught us before, a failed coup becomes a practice run when it goes unpunished. So, America…

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The clock is ticking

Posted on by under Election 2020, Election 2022, Environmental Issues, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Re-blogs, Social commentary, voting rights

Our voting rights are on the auction block … or rather, the chopping block. Why? Because billionaires like Charles Koch, funding organizations like the Heritage Foundation, are using Republicans in Congress as their puppets to impose their will on the people of this country. Right now, their will is to take as many off the voting rolls as possible, by hook or by crook. Blogging friend Brosephus has written this post to show us the lengths to which these people are willing to go to curtail our Constitutional rights. Thanks, Bro.

The Mind of Brosephus

I’m guessing that you’ve seen this video by now. If not, take a few minutes to listen or you can read the article about it that was posted on Mother Jones. Here’s a snippet to digest.

The leaked video reveals the extent to which Heritage is leading a massive campaign to draft and pass model legislation restricting voting access, which has been swiftly adopted this year in the battleground states of Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and Iowa. It’s no coincidence that so many GOP-controlled states are rushing to pass similar pieces of legislation in such a short period of time. 

Republican legislators claim they’re tightening up election procedures to address (unfounded) concerns about fraud in the 2020 election. But what’s really behind this effort is a group of conservative Washington insiders who have been pushing these same kinds of voting restrictions for decades, with the explicit aim of helping Republicans…

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A change will come

Posted on by under Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Just after I put my post about racism in the U.S. on the schedule, I saw this post by my friend Brosephus. In this post, he addresses some of the same issues I did, only from a much more up-close-and-personal view. With his permission, I am re-blogging this and hope you will take a couple of minutes to read it … his words are so very important. Thank you, Brosephus, for sharing these thoughts and words.

The Mind of Brosephus

I’m tired of seeing, hearing, and writing about unjustified police actions on the people they’ve sworn to protect and serve. It’s a never ending loop of agony and despair. I look at my family, my friends, and my coworkers and wonder when will this cycle stop? We’ve been in this loop since before the Emancipation Proclamation, and it’s time for a change in approach.

I’ve told people over the last year or so that we’re barreling towards a date with violence in America. Look at the response to the killing of George Floyd. No, rioting and looting is not the way to address his killing. However, I understand the frustration being uncorked because the residents of Minneapolis have been protesting police brutality there for a while. It’s the same all across America.

When you ignore, downplay, or dismiss peaceful protest, the end result is violence. Colin Kaepernick ended his NFL…

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