Blog

April 4, 2024

Good Morning. I am not a women’s basketball fan and thus have not paid much attention to all the adoration for Caitlin Clark. I did not watch the Iowa-LSU game, although my better half did. I spent my time working on my latest jigsaw puzzle. Even when I was on the faculty at the university of Tennessee, I went to very few of the Lady Vols games. I never could get over how many layups were missed in the women’s game. Just like I have always been puzzled how poor the free throw shooting is in the men’s game. I am simply not a basketball fan. Yet I was surprised and disappointed when UT fired the women’s coach, Kellie Harper. I served on UT’s athletic board and remembered her as a guard on three of Pat Summitt’s national championship teams. She became a very good coach and I was delighted when she came back to Knoxville to replace Holly Warlick who had followed Summitt. I thought Harper was doing an excellent job with her only shortcoming was the lack of being able to recruit star caliber players. By the time she came to Knoxville, South Carolina was the dominant SEC team followed by LSU. On the national scene Gene Auriemma’s UConn teams who had eclipsed Summitt’s UT teams were no longer dominating the national scene. UConn was still unbeatable in the Big East but was not even a number one seed in this year’s NCAA tournament. Back at UT, Harper was 108-52 (.675). This season UT went 20-13, 10-6 in the SEC and lost to an undefeated South Carolina team on a last second lucky three point shot by a player who had never before made a three pointer. UT lost in the tournament to a North Carolina State team that made the Final 4. Harper had never gotten past the Sweet 16 and I guess that many have been her downfall. By firing her, Tennessee lost her two five star commits and her replacement will likely do worse. 

The women’s game has changed but I don’t think Tennessee should have fired Harper. Her firing is reminiscent of Texas’ firing of current Tennessee men’s coach Rick Barnes. Barnes has always been a good coach. His Texas teams were always good but never great even when they had unbelievable talent such as T J Ford and Kevin Durant. Barnes was 402-180 (.691) in Austin. He went to the Sweet 16 five times, to the Elite 8 three times and to the Final Four once. Ultimately he was fired despite that record. He could never win the big one.

At Tennessee, Barnes is 202-101 (.667). Tennessee has gone to 6 NCAA tournaments under Barnes. But similar to his tenure at Texas, Tennessee has been a disappointment in the tournament. They have been to the Elite 8 only twice and never played in the Final 4. Thus, Harper’s record at Tennessee is similar to that of Barnes. She even has a higher winning percentage. Yet there is virtually no chance that Barnes will face the same fate as Harper. One wonders why. Vol great Kara Lawson (one of my former students) is the head coach at Duke. She is one of those rumored to be the next Tennessee coach. Yet Lawson has only been at Duke since 2020, is 69-33 overall and only 32-23 in the ACC – a conference not as strong as the SEC. Her team this year made it to their first Sweet Sixteen. Lawson is one of my favorite people but her record at Duke is not better than Harper’s. She is building a strong program at Duke and can make that her legacy. She cannot have that at Tennessee where Summitt looms larger than life. At Duke she can become the women’s Mike Krzyzewski.  She cannot do that at Tennessee. I hope she stays at Duke.

March 25, 2024

Some of us are old enough to remember when West Virginia was solidly democrat. Republicans were rarely elected to statewide office. Bill Clinton won the state by 13 points. Robert (KKK) Byrd and Jay Rockefeller were the senators and Gaston Caperton was elected governor. Yet twenty five years later Donald Trump carried the state by 40 points and Joe Manchin was the only statewide elected democrat. All three of the state’s representatives were republicans. What happened? Mainly it was coal. West Virginia is coal country and democrats starting with Barack Obama declared war on coal. Hillary Clinton declared that she was going to shut down the coal industry in pursuit of climate change. Sure enough, the EPA has caused coal production in the state to decline by more than 30 percent and unemployment had sharply increased. Thus, West Virginian’s voted in their economic interest and not with their traditional identity. Of course, today’s “progressives” have abandoned rural poor whites with no college degree and that demography is the majority in the state. Nationally, the democrats have done the math. Most voters live in urban areas and the democrats have courted urban college educated higher income voters. This group is more liberal and has adopted diversity, equality and inclusion so long as they don’t have to live it. Consider that Hillary Clinton won almost 3 million more votes than Trump but only won 500 of the country’s 3,100 counties. That statistic is why democrats want to end the electoral college and have a popular vote instead. If that occurs, it will be almost impossible for a republican to be elected president.

One wonders if Biden’s war on the internal combustion engine will lose him Michigan. That state has a democrat governor whose reelection spoke volumes to the disarray in that state’s republican party. Both senators are democrats. But 6 of the state’s 13 representatives are republicans. Michigan’s union leadership is 100 percent democrat but its members may not be. Again it is not in the members’ economic interest to support a party that is intent in destroying diesel and gas vehicles and displacing thousands of workers. That the union membership doesn’t vote out its so-called leaders is puzzling. It will be interesting to see if Michigan does not join West Virginia in the solidly republican column – with the exception of Detroit.

Detroit will likely stay democrat because of its black majority. Jason Riley has pointed out in the Wall Street Journal, Hispanics are also now leaving the democrat party out of their economic interests rather than clinging to their traditional ethnic identity. Riley is implying that this is not true with most blacks, although growing numbers of black men are supporting Trump. This is part of the realignment of the parties that we have seen over the past 30 years. No longer are poor whites democrats. No longer are educated upper income whites republicans. Indeed, a recent poll of educated high earning whites showed that 82% supported Joe Biden! So despite all the envy politics where Biden says that this group is not paying their “fair share” and advocates the raising of their taxes, they overwhelmingly support him. Who said that these folks were smart?

Nine states are following the EPAs lead and are banning the sale of gas cars and trucks in 2025. Of course one is California, the others are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maryland. Vermont, Colorado and Virginia are slated to follow. Again, it is amazing that the voters in these states favor what their politicians are doing to them. But if they do not vote them out, they deserve the higher vehicle prices, the shorter tire life, the thousands of dollars to replace the batteries, higher energy prices, the higher insurance costs, the longer waits to fill up, the lack of range in the winter and the lithium battery fires.

Harold A Black

March 29, 2024

I am at a loss as to why there is virtually no pushback from Republican legislators on Biden’s quest to electrify the planet. Thus far only John Kennedy of Louisiana has taken any action – albeit a futile one. Senator Kennedy in objecting to the halt of new approvals of liquid gas exports has vowed not to let any nominations for positions at the State Department and the Department of Energy. Whoopie! Biden is ignoring Kennedy. Why can’t the senator do something more forceful is beyond me.

Then there is the new mandate from the EPA that will effectively ban automobile internal combustion engines starting in 2032. Alert! That is only 8 years away. The new rule requires that 70% of new vehicles be either electric or hybrid. Clearly, the market has shown that EVs are not ready for prime time and the only way that the public can be forced to buy EVs is to limit the production of gas and diesel vehicles. The public be damned. I have yet to hear the Republicans confront this latest attack on American industry and the American public. Right now the public has shown that the current production of EVs has outstripped the demand for the vehicles. EVs sit languishing on dealer lots. Manufacturers have scaled back production and continue to lose billions. Some startups are near bankruptcy. I saw an ad for the Ford Lightning that offered $15,000 in incentives. However, the Lightning is a vanity pickup. It cannot haul or tow nearly the loads of the gas truck and its range is compromised when it tries to haul or tow. Then it is $17,000 more for an inferior product.

That the EPA would issue its rules now was a surprise. I thought they would wait until after the election. Because of the rule, Biden will lose Michigan. Although the Michigan Republican party is in disarray, the automobile industry is the main industry in the state. The EPA mandate will shrink the number of automobile workers and shutter all those companies that produce parts for the industry. None of these should now vote for Biden.

Then there is the problem of power generation. Our electric grid is not ready and will not be ready to handle 10 million new EVs (assuming that the rule is implemented). Consider that New York currently has less than 2,000 chargers for EVs. In 2032 it will need 40,000. What about the demands on the grid? Currently, California and other states are experiencing more brown outs and black outs due to the unreliability of solar and wind. What happens as coal and natural gas are phased out? Remember when California was asking residents to curtail the charging of EVs due to the strain on the grid? Then too the EPA is issuing rules that will shut down many power plants due to carbon emissions. This will make things worse. New transformers, cables, relay stations and infrastructure will be needed and will not be ready by 2032. Also all of this comes at a higher costs. What about the burden on the poor?

I’ve written before about the environmental damage that comes from the mining of the minerals use in EV battery production. I’ve also written about the impact of wind and solar on animals, birds and ocean wildlife. I’ve also written that China is the main beneficiary of Biden’s rules. Again, was Hunter on the Chinese payroll too?

EVs are too expensive for the majority of car buyers. Used EVs sell poorly because of their limited range, cost of charging, cost of insurance and battery replacement. The only way to get to the 70% number is to eliminate the tariff on cheap Chinese EVs. BYD, the largest Chinese EV manufacturer, has announced it is building a plant in Mexico. Trump has said that he will hit BYD with a 100% tariff. But Trump will be around only 4 years if he is elected. BYD can wait.

Again, the Republican senators and representatives are doing nothing to stop this onslaught of rules and regulations that will severely damage the economy as well as the environment. I hate to call them gutless. But…

Lastly, someone wrote “Imagine we lived in a world where all cars were EVs and then along comes a new invention, the “internal combustion engine”! Think how well they would sell: a vehicle half the weight, half the price that will almost quarter the damage done to the road. A vehicle than can be refueled in 1/10^th of the time and has a range of up to 4 times the distance in all weather conditions. It does not rely on the environmentally damaging use of non-renewable rare earth elements to power it and use far less steel and other materials. Just think how excited people would be for such technology, it would sell like hot cakes!”

Knoxville Focus

March 25, 2024

Why do white people eat so many casseroles? I don’t think I ever had a casserole while growing up – unless mac and cheese is a casserole. 

I love to cook and get several emails a day from cooking sites. Almost daily comes another recipe for a casserole including links to things like “Grandma’s 142 favorite casseroles.” I have yet to try any.

Southern Living magazine has an article “Why do Southerners make casseroles?” saying “These 12 recipes will tell you exactly why Southerners, if given a chance, will almost always make a casserole”. Actually, the title should be “Why do White Southerners make casseroles?” 

The magazine also announced “50 Bake and Take Casseroles Your Neighbors Will Love.” If my neighbors brought me a casserole, I would consider moving.

What about “15 irresistible au gratin potato recipes”. Fifteen? Is au gratin a casserole?

Growing up I thought that you ate because it prevented you from starving to death. My mother was an awful cook. She knew it. But Dad was worse. Once when Mother was in the hospital, Dad cooked us breakfast. We could not recognize what he put on our plates. My brother and I took over the cooking until Mother got back. 

Growing up, Italian was canned Chef Boyardee. Eggs were soft scrambled. Meat was floured and fried except for turkey and roasts – although once she deep fried a roast. There was a grease can on the stove. Vegetables were cooked to death so that the only way we could tell them was by the color. Squash was fried and okra boiled. I refused to eat them then and won’t eat them now. Biscuits were from a can. However, because Mom grew up on a farm meant that we got breakfasts with fried catfish and grits or fried pork chops and grits. Dad loved fried oysters and grits (with Mother’s canned biscuits). I grew up thinking oysters were a breakfast food. Its still a bit strange to see oysters on a dinner menu.

My food enlightenment started when I lived in Germany finishing my dissertation at the University of Konstanz. The local pizzeria had wonderful pizzas, calzones and pasta. Here I had my first taste of pesto and knew that this was confirmation that there was a God. My favorite pizza was spargel (asparagus) pizza with pesto. I thought about expatriating knowing what food I would face when I got back to the states. But I was homesick and asked my mother to send me some red dirt. She sent it in a small box and I was called into the customs office and asked “Was ist das?” I said “dirt”. “Schmutz?” “Ja. Schmutz.” They just shook their heads, handed me my box of Georgia clay and let me go.

I moved back to the states and took my first job at the University of Florida in 1971. I weighed 235 pounds having sat on my behind during the four years in graduate school eating mostly fast foods. In Gainesville I lived in the same complex as the great marathoner Frank Shorter. Inspired I started to lose weight by changing my diet and starting to run. So I stopped eating meat and all fried foods. I gradually lost weight and kept running. I started running in the local races. I was no Frank Shorter and in my first marathon I was passed by a race walker. But eventually I was running a weekly 10K, two half marathons and a full marathon yearly. I weighted 165.

Gainesville had great fresh water fishing and quick access to salt water. Soft shell crabs confirmed the existence of God. Later when I moved to Knoxville, I was fishing with a friend weekly until deer season when he quit fishing to hunt. He took me one day and although I did not see anything living, I became addicted to the solitude and peacefulness. I remembered following my grandfather around the family farm in Gray, GA with my little 22 while he hunted squirrels or rabbits. Since I now hunt deer, I eat them and the only red meat I have eaten since 1971 is what I kill myself.

One of my favorite memories is when my son was around six he was asked what was his favorite food and he said “ziti with pesto”. Hopefully, that is not a casserole.

March 21, 2024

Jason Riley wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “Hispanics tend to put economic interests above their ethnic identity”. That is another way of saying that blacks do not. How else to explain blacks voting for those who oppose changing the method of “education” that keeps black youth functionally illiterate? Or keeping black teenage employment high through increases in minimum wages? Or keeping policies in place that have destroyed the black nuclear family? Or promoting policies of welfare dependence rather than independence? Clearly the democrats hate blacks and want to keep them dependent on the largesse of the welfare state.

The media frenzy over Trump’s bloodbath comment ignored the really important statement behind the comment – that if the Chinese choose to build automobile factories in Mexico to avoid the 25% tariff on their cars, Trump would institute a 100% tariff. Much was written about Republican senator’s Josh Hawley’s endorsement of the idea but less has been written that the increase also has the support of Democrats such as Michigan’s Haley Stevens and Illinois’ Raja Krishnamoorthi. 

Trump again showed his sway over the Republicans who vote in primaries with Bernie Moreno’s impressive victory for the open senate seat in Ohio. The Democrats had hoped to face Moreno with Chuck Schumer’s PAC spending over $2 million in ads supporting Moreno. This is a democrat tactic that has been successful in other races where the democrats seek to boost the candidate they consider to be the weakest in the general election. Be careful what you wish for. 

I love grilled chicken and grilled whole turkey. But my venison burgers are best cooked in a skillet. However, my two gas grills (one in Knoxville and the other at the Georgia farm) sit idle most of the time. I hate the clean up.

The banning of Tik Tok is antithetical to the basic principle of free speech. However, if the vast majority of Gen Z – who are intellectually lazy and gullible to boot – get their news from Tik Tok and it is a propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist party, then there should rightly be some concern. How does one deal with misinformation? This is particularly interesting since the Biden Administration is a trove of misinformation aided and abetted by its propaganda arm – the mainstream media. Some have postulated that the Gen Z anti-Israel, pro-Hamas stance is due to Tik Tok which censors pro-Israel posts.

I love Ohio State (as well as the University of Georgia) yet I hate NIL and Ohio State’s buying the best talent available in the transfer portal – with exception of the Texas A&M tackle who signed with Ole Miss.

I am opposed to the inclusion of the four Pac 12 teams into the Big “10”. I still question the inclusion of Rutgers. Don’t be surprised if my old place of employment, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, becomes a Big “10” target if Clemson and Florida State can figure out a way to get out of their contractual agreements with the ACC. 

Did confusion over shifting into drive on Teslas caused death of McConnell’s sister-in-law? Other cases have been reported of shifting into drive and the car instead going backwards (and vice versa).

EVs pollute more than ICEs because tires pollute more than tailpipes. Who knew?

The small market for used EVs is due to range anxiety, cost of battery replacement, and high insurance and repair costs.

Due to the rising costs of electricity because of “renewable” energy, it now costs more to “fill up” an EV than a gas powered car. This is especially true if you have to use public chargers other than home chargers.

Trump has said that he would only give foreign aid to our friends. If that were the case we would cease giving out aid. I would give no aid to countries that vote against us in the UN.

Our soldiers were killed at a base in Jordan. Why are we there?

The world is a dangerous place with armed conflicts in at least 30 countries and terrorists active in at least 30 more. Doesn’t it feel that it has gotten more dangerous on Biden’s watch? 

Why do we have bases in so many countries? Do we need such a large presence in Europe especially Germany? Maybe we are still afraid of the Germans and are there to watch them rather than the Russians.

Germany is one of Israel’s strongest allies. Personally, I don’t see how the Jews could ever forgive the Germans.

Then again, I don’t see how the Japanese could forgive America for the firebombing of Tokyo that killed 100,000 civilians and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

To paraphrase Henry John Temple, Lord Palmerston: Countries have permanent interests not permanent friends.

March 18, 2024

Is it safe to take an electric car through a car wash?

If it weren’t green, the save the climate crowd would ban wind turbines, solar farms and lithium batteries. Wind turbines kill whales, sea animals and nearly 1 million birds a year. Solar farms pollute waterways and their disposal constitutes an environmental hazard. It is estimated that solar panel disposal will reach a staggering 80 million tons annually. Lithium is mined by my relatives who were left behind in the Congo under horrific conditions and the batteries themselves are a fire hazard. Saving the planet through green energy is akin to the soldier in Viet Nam who said that “We had to destroy the village to save it”.

I have never believed in organized religion even as a child. I asked my bible school teacher why was there a hell. She said it was for sinners. I then asked her if anyone was in heaven.

I later asked my pastor why was there a heaven. He said it was a reward for being virtuous. Again asked if anyone was in heaven.

Later I asked my parents (Dad a good Baptist while Mother was AME) if only Christians go to heaven and Dad answered that Christian heaven was for Christians and other religions had their own heavens. I said “You mean heaven is segregated?” My parents then told me to go talk to the pastor.

My pastor essentially confirmed that each religion has its own view of the after death uniting with God. I then asked if was Christianity the only correct view and all the rest of the non-Christian world would go to hell. He demurred.

Of all the major religions only Buddhism does not have a concept of an afterlife where the soul leaves the body after death and transitions into another existence. So are the 600 million Buddhists condemned to Christian hell?

I came to the opinion while in high school that each person would transition (or not) to whatever they believed since it seems presumptuous to assume that only a few enlightened only know the truth. I remember seeing a woman with a t-shirt on that said “The Bible said it. I believe it.” I asked her what version of the Bible did she believe and she got totally confused. But if you believe in a heaven with angels, harps and cherubs strewing flowers then that will be your heaven. If you believe in hellfire and brimstone with a red devil beating you with cat-o-nine tails, then that will be your hell.

My mother would always make me blow leaves and weed eat several acres of land at the farm. I hated it so one of my hells will be to be greeted by St Peter who will have a weedeater in one hand and a leaf blower in another and condemn me to blowing leaves and whacking weeds for all eternity.

My second hell will be to have St Peter say “Welcome. You love craft beers so let me take you to my favorite brew pub.” Inside we see 38 taps of IPAs and I say “You would think in heaven there would be at least one stout” and St Peter would say “What makes you think you are in heaven?”

I hate sailboats. I love powerboats and have owned one continuously since 1971. It is that when sailboats tilt, it is time for me to get on shore. So my last hell would be stuck for eternity on a sailboat with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.

What’s your hell (or hells)?

March 18, 2024

Knoxville Focis

knoxfocus.com

Harold A Black

Late last year when most of the world was shocked by the barbaric attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians, there was almost universal support of Israel. However, in November 2023 I wrote “One thing is certain. As the war progresses people will forget the atrocities that caused it and will turn against the Israelis as the progressive Western press will blame Israel for the suffering of the Palestinians. Hopefully, Israel will ignore all noise and do what it considers best in order to survive.” I don’t claim to be prophetic but with Hamas hiding behind civilians by putting their facilities in hospitals, schools and masques, it was clear that civilian casualties were going to result from any Israeli retaliation. Such as been the case but I have always had serious doubts as to the casualty figures.  Virtually every news sources interjects in its coverage that the fighting “has left more than 30,000 Palestinians dead, according to Gaza health authorities, who don’t distinguish between civilians and militants.” Even the Wall Street Journal, which should know better always includes this quote in its reporting. I have no doubt that civilians have been killed – and that is the fault of Hamas using civilians as shields. However, Hamas is likely lying to evoke sympathy and turn the West against Israel. Remember when it was reported that 400 people had been killed by an Israeli missile at a Gaza hospital? The press ran with that story and there were mass protests throughout the West. Then we all found out that the missile was one that had been fired by Hamas and had landed in the hospital’s parking lot. Yet the media continues to promote the Hamas numbers unchallenged perhaps due to the antisemitism on the far left. 

Yes the pictures of civilians – in particular children – are powerful. Yet so were the pictures from Viet Nam causing our soldiers to be called “baby killers” and spat upon and cursed when they returned home. Dead and wounded children are heartbreaking. However, what Israel is not doing is noteworthy. They are not explicitly attacking civilians unlike the Allies’ carpet bombing of Dresden and our fire bombing of Japanese cities. One of our generals stated that if we had lost the war, we would have been convicted of war crimes. From February 13 – 15, 1945, British and US bombers dropped 2,700 tons of explosives on the German city of Dresden killing 30,000 civilians. On March 9,1945 the US dropped over 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo. The houses were primarily made of wood and over 100,00 Japanese citizens died. War crimes indeed. 

Again those are purely civilian casualties with no military targets. On the other hand, the Hamas figures are inflated and have been exposed as such. Early on Biden and the administration’s spokesman, John Kirby, expressed skepticism about Hamas’ figures. Biden said he had “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using.” Kirby said “We can’t take anything coming out of Hamas, including the so-called Ministry of Health, at face value.” Now everyone, including the administration, has bought into the civilian casualty figures from Hamas and Biden is now trying to appease both the Israelis and the pro Hamas crowd. Biden stills says he supports arms and aid to Israel but he has tried to coddle the leftists in his party by criticizing Israeli strategy and sanctioning some Israelis on the West Bank. Biden and his secretary of state Blinken (where are Wynken and Nod?) have even advocated creation of a Palestinian state – something that the Palestinians themselves reject. The Israelis are poised to go into Rafah, the last remaining stronghold of Hamas. Biden has told Israel to essentially stand down and that Rafah is a “red line.” Yet, as the Israelis well know, leaving Rafah intact also leaves Hamas with battalions of fighters with tunnels into Egypt bringing supplies and weapons. Thus, leaving Rafah gives victory to Hamas. That realization has united all the factions in Israel. Not going into Rafah would be political suicide for Netanyahu. 

As I wrote, Israel should ignore the noise and the criticism. Biden doesn’t go to sleep surrounded by people that want to exterminate Americans and erase America. Although Israel is an ally, it has always looked out for itself first. It has conducted spying, misinformation, manipulation and bribing of its allies to further its own interests. It is inconceivable that its people will ever forget the Hamas atrocities and even consider a cease fire until Hamas is reduced to single terrorist bombers and writers of antisemitic propaganda.

March 15, 2024

Also attending my niece’s inauguration as president of Harvey Mudd College were my two wonderful cousins from Gray, GA (who also attended my commencement address at the University of Georgia in December). At Harvey Mudd, they ran into Barbara Krauthamer, Emory University’s Dean of Arts and Sciences. It was an amazing experience. One of my cousins had seen Dr Krathamer’s lecture on C-Span on photographs of blacks during and post slavery and was stunned to meet her. The reason is that the last photo in Krathamer’s book – one that she spent some time on in the lecture – was that of my cousins’ maternal great grand mother, Minerva Graves Black. I was also stunned because in the photo are her two children. The boy is her son, Frank Black who married my grandfather’s sister and is my grandfather’s brother-in-law. I knew her and often visited her on our trips to Gray. I recall her has being one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She was especially close to my mother. Note that Minerva Graves Black and her husband were not related to my father who was from Americus, GA. This is why I tell people that I have Blacks on both sides of the family. Isn’t it a small world? Krauthamer has a slew of wonderful lectures on the south and slavery of blacks including being slaves of Native Americans. Here is the lecture which I recommend highly that you take time to view. photo. https://www.c-span.org/video/?410238-1/emancipation-legacy-photos

March 15, 2024

At my niece’s inauguration as president of Harvey Mudd College (Claremont, CA), the event was marred by pro Hamas protestors. The delegates were in their academic regalia in a building across from the campus auditorium of Pomona College. Before the doors opened to the auditorium around two dozen protestors covered themselves with sheets and lay down blocking the entrance. After about an hour delay, the police escorted the platform speakers and family into the auditorium through the back door. The rest of the delegates and the audience were taken to another facility on the Mudd campus where the inauguration was live streamed. The police would not open the front door to prevent the protestors from coming inside the auditorium. I, and a few others, were upset. But my niece and most of the delegates who were from other universities were not. Later at lunch, one college president just shrugged off the protest saying “This is the world in which we now live.” Here in Knoxville, the protestors would have been asked to leave and if they refused, would have been “escorted” away. Later there was a campus lunch under a massive tent where the delegates, students and townspeople gathered. It was the perfect venue for a protest. Instead, it was peaceful, uneventful and celebratory. I wonder if any of the protestors were there enjoying the wonderful cuisine?

The early polls show Biden may lose 40 percent of the Hispanic votes. I thought the Hispanics were supposed to be overwhelmingly democrats? On my annual deer hunting trip to Eagle Pass, TX – the epicenter of the illegal immigrant crisis – the rancher’s wife and mother who are Mexican-Americans are incredibly vocal to being inundated with illegals. That area ousted their democrat congressman with a republican. Apparently, the Hispanics are not embracing the inflow.

Fox News is the only media outlet that regularly broadcasts from Eagle Pass. They are actually doing a disservice because they only interview the white ranchers. They should be exclusively interviewing the town residents who have seen their social services, hospitals and town overwhelmed by the illegals. Eagle Pass is a town of 28,000 residents – mostly Hispanic. The number of illegal encounters by the Border Patrol is often 4,000 a day. On top of that number there are the gotaways, mostly young men who do not turn themselves in claiming asylum. Overall it is estimated that during Biden’s term, over 10 million illegals have entered the country. Most will stay. Also, illegals from 145 countries have come across the border. Those from Central America outnumber those coming from Mexico.

Again, what is the motivation for the democrats’ open door policy? The notion that they are importing new voters, as I have often noted, is likely to fail since most Hispanics are practicing Catholics, opposed to LBGTQ+, hardworking and have nuclear families. They also resent because called “Latinx” – the woke term loved by the left. Anyway, illegals cannot vote in national elections and there is pushback in the leftist communities who want to let them vote in local elections. Some say that the elite on the left support the inflow for the cheap labor. They need construction workers, workers in packing plants, lawn service and labor for menial jobs. But that would alienate labor unions and those minorities being displaced by the illegals. Another reason is that the influx is needed to save social security with new contributors to bolster the social security “fund”. The final reason is to preserve national political power with the illegals replacing the citizens who have fled democrat run states. The Census count on which congressional representation is based, does not ask for citizenship status.

Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish, on the Senate floor called for the ouster of Netanyahu. I don’t know if this is unprecedented but I don’t remember Schumer calling for a regime change in Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, Congo, China of even Iran. What gives? The Israelis are united on this issue and Netanyahu is likely the most “moderate” of the Israeli leaders. An election at this juncture would see someone more closely aligned to the Zionists as president. That president would have less regard for civilians, try to oust the Palestinians from the West Bank and call for a resettlement of Gaza. Schumer has always been a manipulative schemer but I never thought he was a fool.

Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema the two democrat senators opposed to ending the filibuster are leaving the senate. (Yes I know Sinema is an “independent”). Manchin is going to be replaced by a republican. The democrat running to replace Sinema (Rep. Ruben Gallego) calls the filibuster a “Jim Crow relic”. Guess we know where he stands. I have no doubt that if the dems keep control of the Senate that they will vote to end the filibuster. The next time the House, Senate and president are all democrats, the filibuster – the only firewall left to stanch the march to socialism – will disappear.

Musk’s brain implant is frightening. Brain implants, AI and a national digital currency will lead to total government control regardless of which party is in power because in the end neither party would be able to resist the temptation to control the masses.

Harold A Black

March 13, 2024

Go back in your history and you will find poverty. I am not poor. Neither is anyone in my family. I have a Phd. Both my children have MBAs. My late borther had a Phd as do his two children. My parents both had masters degrees. Their siblings all had college degrees. Dad’s parents did not finish high school. His father drove a coal truck. His mother was a maid. They had seven children that lived (two others died in infancy). His mother refused to let her daughters do housework saying that she was not raising the next generation of maids. The boys did the housework but apparently my father did not do any of the cooking. All seven children went to HBCUs. His sisters all were school teachers. One brother was career Air Force. Another brother was an independent businessman. Another became a lawyer and later a municipal judge. Dad was initially the black agricultural extension agent in south Georgia – in those days there were enough black farmers to merit their own extension agent. Of course there was a white extension agent for the white farmers. Dad later morphed into an elementary principal where he met and married my mother. Dad and his brothers worked seasonally as migrant workers to pay for their schooling. He and his brothers also worked to help pay for their sisters’ education.

Mother’s father was a farmer with a primary school education. Her mother was a high school graduate who had to go to a private boarding school in Macon because there was no high school for blacks in her hometown of Gray, GA. With that high school degree granted from Ballard Boarding School for Girls in 1906, she was certified as being qualified to teach “Negro children in the state of Georgia”. I asked my mother how could her grandfather (Milous Towles) afford to send his daughter Mary to boarding school. Mother said “He was an entrepreneur.” I asked, “What does that mean?” Mother replied, “He was a bootlegger.” Pop Milous was illiterate. I have a deed with his “X” on it saying that it was his mark. However, he wanted a different future for his children. My grandmother became the one room schoolmarm for black children in Gray. Mother went to Fort Valley State College (now university). Fort Valley was then a two year school and mother got her degree which was what was now necessary to teach school. Two years later, when Fort Valley became a four year school Mother went back to get another degree. She only had enough money for one year but Fort Valley let her work in the registrar’s office her senior year and waived all her tuition and fees. Mother then received the very first 4 year degree awarded by Fort Valley. She was forever grateful and made a significant donation to the university every year until she died at 101. She is considered the mother of the university which created the Harriet Barfield Black Society in her honor.

I do not know anything about Dad’s family prior to his parents. However, I know much of my mother’s history on her mother’s side. Her maternal grandmother lived with them at the farm in Gray. Ma Mat was born a slave and said she was “picking cotton on Bonners’ Hill when Sherman marched up it.” She marveled at my grandparent’s status and loved their house, even though at that time it had an outhouse. She was proud of how far she had traveled from slavery to the farmhouse in Gray.

I have great admiration for those who came before me. By growing up in an educated household, both my brother and I could read before we went to school. In fact we both skipped the first grade. I graduated from high school at 16, from the University of Georgia at 20 and received a Phd from Ohio State at 25. Both my brother and I never had a thought about not going to college. The only question was where. I think my parents wanted us to go to an HBCU but they were not insistent. Although we both received early admission scholarships to Morehouse out of the 10^th an 11^th grades, neither one of us had a desire to graduate early. My brother wanted to be an engineer. Since he could not go to Georgia Tech because of segregation, he went to Purdue. The state of Georgia paid his out of state tuition since he was majoring in a subject not offered at one of the state’s three black HBCUs. I had thought I wanted to be a physicist. Fortunately, I received a National Foundation Grant to spend part of the summer between my junior and senior high school years to study physics at Norfolk State University. I quickly learned that college physics was light years different from high school physics and I had better rethink my career path. I decided to follow my brother to Purdue, saying that I would major in engineering. However, the University of Georgia was ordered to desegregate in my junior year. The state took away the tuition grant to black students. My father told me he did not have enough to send both of us to Purdue and I would have to find someplace else. Although I got several scholarships to HBCUs and a band scholarship to Ohio State (ironically). I found the University of Georgia.

My parents paid for our college and gave us a stipend so we wouldn’t have to work – just concentrate on your studies we were told. We knew our history and knew we had it easy. We did not have to leave school to be migrant workers to pay for our education like our Dad. We did not have to fear that the money would run out and we would have to leave school without the degree like my mother. We were not destined to do manual labor or clean house for white people. We did not use “X” as our signature. We did not have to pick cotton under the sweltering Georgia sun and be fed in the fields from hog troughs like Ma Mat. Yet because of all those and the others who went before them, we are forever in their debt. There may be educated poor black folk. But I do not know any. The surest way out of poverty is through education. That is obvious. Yet most black politicians and civil rights organizations are against school choice. This simply means that they have created an industry out of poor black folk and the end of poverty would cut off the money flowing from guilty white people. I am ashamed of the NAACP, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Ibram X. Kendi and all the antiracism race hustlers. They do us all a disservice.