Tracy Chapman puts 'woke' whining out of its misery at the Grammys

 Monica Showalter - American Thinker   "Singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman has already made her feelings known about wokester whining regarding a white country-music singer who licensed her 'Fast Car' song and got a hit out of it, but over at the Grammys, she really made her point clear -- by coming out of 20 years retirement and singing a duet with the same country music star, Luke Combs, that had the Grammy audience bawling and on their feet.

"It was a class act all around, which is not something you expect much of at the Grammys anymore:

Award shows are tedious and crass, but the smile on Tracy Chapman’s face when the auditorium goes nuts for her before she takes everyone to school with no lip sync, no auto-tune and no in-ear monitors is a pretty sweet moment to capture live. pic.twitter.com/YZGbWgMmHJ

— Sean Armstrong (@manatee73) February 5, 2024

"Because, well, she's brimming with merit and talent and brilliance, and she never insults her audience. Yes, her politics are probably progressive, based on some of her song topics and lyrics, but they are always personal, and she never throws her politics in people's faces. She's first and foremost an artist. So, her music appeals to 100% of her potential audience, not 50% as the loud wokester musicians like to do to themselves, shutting out half their potential buying audience by yelling about MAGA or whatever. Chapman doesn't do that -- she lets her beautiful music speak for itself as befits a true artist.

"That's why she's number one -- and every woke Hollywood loudmouth ought to take notice."

Hamas victims showed 'systematic genital mutilation', says IDF volunteer | Israel-Hamas war

 Hamas victims showed 'systematic genital mutilation', says IDF volunteer | Israel-Hamas war (youtube.com)

89,981 views Jan 31, 2024 #israelhamaswar #hamas #gaza

• A female reservist for the Israel Defence Forces who prepared the bodies of the female victims of the 7 October attacks has told Sky News some of the corpses showed evidence of sexual assault.
  Shari Mendes said some women had been repeatedly shot in the face and genitals.
  Hamas has denied claims its members abused or sexually tortured female victims.
• They have been living on foreign and Israeli aid. They were given the chance to build up a social and economically safe society. October 7th however showed what they really and foremost wanted. Ever since, I reject calling them Palestines. Gazanese it is, and they are far from innocent, far from victims, far from poor. They chose to be what they are and given the freedom, they will choose the same again. My heart goes out to all Israelis.

Nili Margalit is interviewed about her time as a hostage:

"A nurse held in Hamas captivity for nearly two months warned Israel’s leaders that remaining hostages, many with serious health issues, are facing dire conditions and “living on borrowed time.” In a letter to the war cabinet leaked to Hebrew-language media, Nili Margalit said captives are suffering from heart problems, renal failure, and Parkinson’s disease, without proper medical care or sanitation." . . .

Civilians took me. They sold me to Hamas - Nili Margalit, freed hostage (Part 1) "Nili Margalit, who endured the brutality of Hamas captivity in Gaza for nearly 50 days, describes the chilling experience of being kidnapped."Civilians took me. They sold me to Hamas - Nili Margalit, freed hostage (Part 2)"We were held 40 meters underground...with no air." Nili Margalit, who endured the brutality of Hamas captivity in Gaza for nearly 50 days, speaks of the horrors she endured at the merciless hands of the terrorists."Nili Margalit, captured with Yarden Bibas, refused to relate news of his family’s alleged death (Part 3) The physical and psychological torture of the ISRAELI Hostages by the Hamas Terrorists is Something Out of the WORST HORROR Scenario One Can Imagine. To Abduct families - separate and Bring them Together and Separate Them Again - - To Act As If Death Could Occur To Any Of Them Any Moment - - Not Knowing If Your Loved Ones are In the Next Room - Alive or Not - - UNIMAGINABLE CRUELTY.Typos corrected by Grammarly
Update: At least 32 of the 136 hostages held in Gaza killed, 20 others feared dead - NYT | The Times of Israel"If Israel gets back as many as fifty hostages, it will be a miracle. It will be a greater one if any living hostages ever manage to recover enough to live anything close to a normal life.

Israelis, this should be a message to you. Fight to the death. Do not allow yourselves to be taken prisoner. If you die in combat, at least it will be a quick death as opposed to a long torture-filled gantlet ending in death at the hands of Satan's demons in human form. That goes particularly for Israeli women." Comment from Mac

"Leaning into": Oberlin Athletics Wins NCAA LGBTQ Award After Demoting Coach Who Spoke Out Against Men in Women’s Sports

The statements about “inclusivity” are rather interesting considering in September, Oberlin demoted their then-women’s lacrosse coach, Kim Russell, to what was essentially a desk job as an Employee Wellness Project Manager, all for the crime of publicly defending herself after stating she believed women’s sports shouldn’t be opened up to men who identify as women.

 Legal Insurrection

“This award comes with a great sense of pride. It also comes with a great sense of responsibility. We cannot become complacent. We must constantly commit ourselves to maintaining and improving inclusivity on our campus.”

Does this woman actually believe what she is saying?

"In their write-up as to why they chose Oberlin for the distinction, the NCAA specifically cited their stated commitment to DEI:

Diversity, equity and inclusion is at the forefront of Oberlin’s mission. The school’s expansive efforts supporting LGBTQ student-athletes and staff include required education, physical and financial resources, campus and community partnerships, and panel discussions. […]

. . .Among Oberlin’s inclusion efforts are requiring staff and student-athletes to complete microaggression, pronoun and allyship trainings. The school has also hosted Pride-themed basketball games and 5K races to raise money for The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. OneTeam trainings have been offered to anyone in the athletics department, as well.  The school is mindful of pronouns for all staff and student-athletes, maintaining a master list with those details to use in any print or digital materials. Transgender athletes have also been brought to campus to speak to student-athletes and staff. In 2018, Oberlin dedicated a locker room to be an all-gender changing space for transgender student-athletes and community members. In 2023, Oberlin student-athletes started a Queer Student Athlete Group to create a safe space for queer athletes to feel heard, represented and appreciated.

"Their athletic director, Natalie Winkelfoos, declared in her video acceptance speech that “This award comes with a great sense of pride.”

That's enough. We've used all the WOKE phrases speeches like this require. TD

IDF Gears up to Take Gaza-Egypt Rafah Crossing as Hamas Close to Defeat in Khan Younis Terror Stronghold, Israeli Defense Minister Says

  (legalinsurrection.com)

"I suspect that Hamas can’t seriously negotiate releasing the rest of the hostages because they have raped and murdered most of them. They are trying to get whatever concessions they can before the truth is revealed. My heart goes out to the friends and relatives of those who were killed and taken hostage. Never again! That means eliminating all the Hamas terrorists and their entire infrastructure." OldProf2  

"The Israeli military is gearing up to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt as it wraps up the offensive in the Hamas stronghold of Khan Younis, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Friday.

"The defense minister assured that “we are completing the mission in Khan Younis and we will also reach Rafah and eliminate everyone there who is a terrorist who is trying to harm us.” The Egyptian border, particularly the area around Rafah Border Crossing, is a major weapons supply line and terrorist escape route for Hamas in Gaza.

"Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza, is infested with underground terror tunnels leading into Egypt. According to an October 2023 report by the DC-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), the “tunnels to Egypt played key Role in arming Hamas.”

"With the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tightening the noose around Hamas’s terrorist leadership and jihadi fighters running out of arms and ammunition, the closing of the terrorist supply lines through Rafah is a key Israeli military objective." . . .

Watch Hamas' 'Deathly Hallows'| IDF Raid Video Right Out Of A Movie   

Dramatic Operation On Camera. Many comments must come from pro-Hamas people. For you, I will try to publish items containing Mothers, fathers and their families being burned alive andmachine-gunned. One you may like is a teenage boy coming home and Hamas killing him, showing a large puddle of blood coming from his head.

For other requests, I refer you to your Congressional representative, Tlaib, at right, your people's choice.

The Tunnel Dweller

Sooooo, we're not gonna die?

Scientist who thought we 'we're all going to die from climate change' reveals 7 reasons she was wrong - and how the issue is being overblown    "A scientist who believed humans would die from the climate crisis has made a U-turn and now believes the issue may have been overblown.

"Hannah Ritchie, a data scientist at the University of Oxford, claims that doomsday warnings of floods, widespread famine and deaths from disasters are overshadowing the progress that has been quietly made in recent years.

"She pointed out how emissions per person peaked in 2012 and remained the same since, along with the notion that organic food is not more climate-friendly and that the dreaded 2.7F of warming is not a tipping point into oblivion

"Ritchie, who published the book 'Not the End of the World,' recently shared the seven key points that led her to change her position on the climate crisis." . . .

3. Humans have overcome environmental crisis 

"The world was faced with a near global catastrophe starting in the 1980s when British meteorologist Jonathan Shanklin discovered a hole in the ozone layer.

"The hole – which hit the global headlines – was created by the release of human-made chemicals, particularly CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), into the atmosphere.

"This discovery led to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to halt the production of CFCs, signed in December 1987, and mend the hole.

"However, scientists' alarm was first dismissed by government officials who downplayed the ozone layer issue.

"But eventually, world leaders came together to form the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to halt the production of CFCs, which was signed in December 1987." . . .

So was it unnecessary to be afraid? Or was it because we were afraid we solved the problem? TD

Black Voters are Abandoning the Democratic Party. Where Will They Go?

  Opinion (newsweek.com) 

 But first we digress: Below: Scariest Pro-Trump Video to Date - The Black Sphere

Kevin Jackson, 2024 The Black Sphere . . ."I mentioned this a while back, as I explain that the Left’s incessant attacks on Trump actually hurt Democrats with the black vote. I wrote:

Their targeting of Trump provided a wake-up call to blacks. No longer were black people the only victims of profiling and discrimination. Blacks discovered that former ex-president billionaire Republicans suffer the same fate of the oppressed Negro. Yes, Democrats actually exposed the game. They target and oppress anybody who won’t further the narrative set by the Party of Oppression.

"The video by Newsmax has gone viral. But it will have much farther reach, particularly now that Trump himself is promoting it." . . .

"The 2024 election cycle is heating up as it becomes increasingly clear that the nation will once again be choosing between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump in the race for the White House. Of particular interest this season is the declining support for Biden among Black voters, a critical constituency that helped him win in 2020.

"Current polling shows that while Biden still enjoys considerable support among Black voters overall, with 73 percent preferring him over Trump, his backing drops significantly among Black voters under 34—to just 60 percent. Interestingly enough, 28 percent of this group support Trump.

"Given the reality that Black Americans have supported Democrats at percentages exceeding 90 percent in days past, it is clear this new trend has placed quite an obstacle in the president's path to reelection.

"The obvious question is: Why is this happening?

"For starters, the Biden administration has largely neglected Black voters' concerns since taking office in 2021. Yet Biden has championed other groups of Americans, such as migrants and the LGBTQ community. Indeed, even Ukraine seems to get more attention from the Biden administration than African Americans

"The president has essentially signaled that he cares more for the plight of people in foreign countries than addressing domestic issues that affect the Black community." . . .

Light A Candle commented: "He’s not exaggerating. Here are major areas where the majority of Black Americans differ from white Democrats:"

• Funded policing, per Gallup “Black Americans Want Police to Retain Local Presence“, “Seventy-nine percent of those who have had an interaction with the police in the past 12 months say they want the police to spend more or the same amount of time in their neighborhood”.

• Immigration, per Gallup: 84% of Black Americans favor “Tightening security at U.S. borders” and 82% favor “Requiring business owners to check the immigration status of workers they hire”.

• School Choice, per Harvard EdNext: “School choice divides the Democratic Party along racial and ethnic lines. African American Democrats support targeted school vouchers, universal vouchers, and charter schools at 70%, 60%, and 55%, respectively.”

• Affirmative Action, per Pew, less than half of Black Americans approve of AA in college admissions. The only demographic approving in the majority are white Democrats. In addition, more Black Americans feel AA has ultimately disadvantaged them personally than has helped them. And 28% percent (!) of Black American adults feel they have personally unfairly benefited from AA.

• Voter ID, Rasmussen Reports found 69% of Black Americans support it.

Sorry, Obama: 'We' Aren't Complicit. It's You Who Has Blood on Your Hands

 Opinion (newsweek.com)

. . ."I thought of The Arsonists this week when I heard snippets of a podcast interview featuring former president Barack Obama on the Middle East. "Nobody's hands are clean," Obama said. "All of us are complicit." Nah, man. Not all of us are complicit. It's just you."

 What "occupation", Obama?

President @BarackObama on the violence in Gaza.
Full interview out Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/U42Jy2Aa4y

— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) November 4, 2023

. . ."It's you, because you're the one who gave that stentorian speech about red lines in Syria and then sat by and did nothing as those red lines were crossed and Assad continued to slaughter his own people, allowing the Iranians and the Russians to creep in and fill the vacuum left by your devastating lack of leadership.

"I, Me, Mine"

"It's you, because you're the one who came up with the idea of empowering Iran, the world's premiere exporter of terrorism, Holocaust denial, and chaos, all the while telling the American people you were merely trying to stop Teheran from getting a nuclear bomb. Billions of dollars and thousands of dead later, we can all see how well this idea—which you, with the eloquence only a professor could muster, called "regional integration"—is working.

"It's you, because you're the one who delivered a parting gift to the region, ending your final term as president by reversing four decades of American bipartisan support of Israel and abstaining from a U.N. vote condemning Israeli settlements, while funneling $400 million in annual payments to the despotic Palestinian Authority, which then promptly used this money to fund its pay-for-slay program, doling out large cash payments to any Palestinian who murdered Jews.

"So, please, Mr. President: Spare us your opinions.". . .

"Only a mind gripped by the erotic pull of theory would look at the 2009 demonstrations in Iran—the so-called Green Revolution—and decide that America ought to side not with the huddled masses yearning to breathe free but with their jailers, the murderous mullahs who beat women to death for not wearing proper head coverings, execute gays, and kidnap Americans for ransom like common criminals."

Do Obama’s obsessions explain Biden’s Iran appeasement? - JNS.org  ..."Washington is claiming that the ransom payment will help ease tensions with Iran and perhaps lead to what may be an informal agreement that will help revive former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal. But the Iranians, as they have consistently done with the last two Democratic presidents, are playing hard to get. The Islamist government is representing the deal as another example of its skill in manipulating its Western enemies. It also sends a message to the protest movement that has been clamoring for democracy and women’s rights for the last year, that—just as Obama did in 2009 during similar Iranian anti-regime protests that were also violently repressed—the United States has no interest in supporting them.". . .

 

‘Sickening’: E. Jean Carroll Slammed For Bragging About How She’ll Spend Trump Money

 Analyzing America

"If you needed any more proof this whole suit and verdict was a crock, here it is. And of course, Maddow still soaks it all up while not realizing how damaging this is." Joe Concha 

"E. Jean Carroll’s comments during a media appearance, where she joked about using the funds from her defamation lawsuit against Donald Trump for personal expenses, sparked controversy and criticism.

"Despite winning an $83.3 million verdict in the lawsuit, her remarks led to concerns about her credibility and the impact on real assault survivors.

"Trump’s legal team plans to appeal the decision, and Carroll clarified her comments, emphasizing her intention to use the money for good causes.

Rachel Maddow asks E. Jean Carroll what she's going to do with "Trump's money" to help "women's rights."

Carroll says she and Maddow will "go shopping, get completely new wardrobes, new shoes...Rachel, what do you want, penthouse?"

Her lawyer nervously says "that's a joke": pic.twitter.com/5LAx5xU5Uy

— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) January 30, 2024

. . ."“This shows exactly what’s wrong with the justice system. You’re claiming the harm to your reputation was so bad you need millions to compensate for it, then you make these types of jokes. This also paints real assault survivors in bad lights and makes them seem money hungry. Absolutely disgusting,” Independent Women’s Forum spokesperson Paula Scanlan said.

“ 'She’s a nutball,” The Spectator contributing editor Stephen Miller wrote.

“ 'Being in Law Enforcement and public safety for over 3 decades having worked special victims cases, this is not the mindset of a victim. No amount of money can ever make whole a true victim of sexual assault nonetheless make them giddy,” radio host Rob O’Donnell said.

“ 'Deranged. Maddow served it up on a silver platter for E. Jean Carroll and she decided to be unhinged in her response,” conservative Steve Guest wrote." . . .

E. Jean Carroll's Stunning Claim: Dress Allegedly Worn During Trump Assault Didn't Exist - State of the Union (stateofunion.org)

Trump’s Attorney Boris Epshteyn said, “She said, this is the dress I wore in 1994. They went back, they checked. The dress wasn’t even made in 1994.”

‘Build The Border Wall’ Americans Once Again Tell Biden: I&I/TIPP Poll –

  Issues & Insights 

“Anyone who says Biden needs new laws to stop the migrant crisis is a liar,” tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida this week. “The law RIGHT NOW says if the President finds that the entry of any aliens would be detrimental to the U.S. he can ‘suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens’.” 

"The hot topic of immigration has come to a boil in recent weeks with a clash between President Joe Biden and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over the building of a border fence to keep illegal entrants from crossing into the U.S. Americans lean strongly toward Abbott in the feud, expressing strong support for a border wall, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll shows.

"Along with the economy and health care, immigration has leapt to the fore among the many issues that concern Americans this election year. The latest national online I&I/TIPP Poll, including 1,402 registered voters, asked three questions related to the topic, with special focus on the U.S.-Texas border row.

"To begin with, voters were asked: “Do you support or oppose building a wall along the southern border to combat illegal immigration?”

"The score wasn’t close: Among all respondents, 59% supported constructing a wall along our southern border, either “strongly” (41%) or “somewhat” (18%). Just 32% oppose the idea, either “strongly” (17%) or “somewhat” (15%).

"As with many other things in America these days, political differences can be huge. Democrats are split close to evenly, with 43% supporting a wall and 47% opposing it. Republicans overwhelmingly like the idea, with 85% support and just 11% opposition. A slight majority of independents (51%) back a wall, while 37% reject it." . . .

How many millions of illegals must it take for that 37% to cherish this nation?

When it comes to Muslim massacres, we’ve seen all this before

 When it comes to Muslim massacres, we’ve seen all this before - Milli Sands

"Muslims have been “musling” from the 7th century until the 21st with no end in sight. Whether it is the massacring of Jews, Christians, or Hindus (not a complete list of Muslim targets), Muslims will continue “musling” until the world puts an end to these Islamic practices." Milli Sands

"One of the least disturbing images from the October 7 massacre.

. . ."On October 7, 2023, as Ilhan Omar said of September 11, 2001, some people did something. What they did was so appalling that it’s still difficult to comprehend the level of atrocity.

"But it’s not the first time. The same “some people something before” to the Jews, back in 1929, in Hebron (quoting Sha’i Ben-Tekoa’s Phantom Nation: Inventing the “Palestinians” as the Obstacle to Peace):

Half of the massacred Jew, those in Hebron, were non-Zionist Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) boy studying in a yeshiva. Sixty-nine of them were slain while others were deliberately maimed: hands, toes and fingers chopped off in order to leave the victim crippled for life. Some had their eyes gouged out; others were castrated. Not one person was just killed; all were inventively mutilated and tortured to death. One pre-teen girl was gang-raped by thirteen Arabs who then suspended her from a tree upside down over a bonfire until the heat made her brain swell and explode, and she died.

""Like October 7, just not quite. Rhyme, not repetition. Muslim violence doesn't occur in a vacuum.

"October 7 did not take place in Hebron. It took place some 50 miles away in Israel, near Gaza. (Of note, the website distance-cities.com, from which the above link comes, refers to “Gaza, Palestine,” and “Hebron, Palestine,” despite above link comes, refers to “Gaza, Palestine,” and “Hebron, Palestine,” despite the fact that there is no Palestinian state, and labels them as such on their map.) 

The Hebron Massacre of 1929 was the result of Muslims being Muslims after being told by Haj Amin al-Husseini that the Jews were planning on destroying holy places, e.g., Al-Aqsa. 

Muslims repeatedly accuse Jews of trying to destroy Al Aqsa. It is so weird that not a single weapon in the hands of the Israelis, precision-guided or otherwise, has found this target in the near century between the massacres. 

View if you dare: HAMAS MASSACRE (saturday-october-seven.com)

The Al-Aqsa Flood of Antisemitism

 Alex Gordon - American Thinker

"The Arabs got along well with the Jews while they were a humiliated minority in the Islamic world, but they cannot forgive the Jews for having managed to establish their own state and prospering despite all the injustices done to them, while the Arabs, despite their natural wealth, cannot fit into modern civilization and culture.' " 

                                          "You will always be a silly people!" 

 

"The purpose of The Al-Aqsa Flood, Hamas's October 7, 2023 "operation" in southern Israel, was to drown the Zionist enemy in its own blood.

"However, this massacre and the kidnapping of hundreds of Israeli citizens did not elicit unanimous condemnation of this terrorist crime, but rather, in many cities around the world, on the five continents, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators supported the murderers and rapists, chanting the slogan "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," which meant the destruction of the State of Israel.

"This slogan was first used in 1964 by the newly established Palestine Liberation Organization, which rejected the partition plan for Palestine that had been adopted by the United Nations on November 29, 1947, calling for "two states for two peoples."

"Neither the Arab countries that attacked the newly formed Israel on May 14, 1948, nor the Palestinian Arabs accepted the partition of Palestine approved by the United Nations resolution, for they did not accept the existence of Israel. The Palestine Liberation Organization then and later, followed by Hamas supporters, called for the establishment of a unified Palestinian state stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, that is, they called for the destruction of the State of Israel.

"The Palestine Liberation Organization's call for the destruction of Israel predates the Six Day War, that is, before the "Zionist occupation." In 1964 and now, it means support for the massacre and a campaign to encourage its continuation. The massive support for Hamas means that "Operation" Al-Aqsa Flood has become a "flood" of antisemitism in many corners of the world, a globalization of antisemitism.

"The outbreak of antisemitism in the Middle East and around the world as a result of the October 7, 2023 massacre is due to the outrage of the Jews' foes that the Israelis put up stiff military resistance to the pogromists." . . .

Other history months we need; Consider Italians. Most of them arrived after slavery. They are associated with pizza and the Mafia but they were far more than that.

  Don Surber (substack.com)

. . ."Heisenberg said, “I owe my patriotic duty to my country. I’m not going to defect to the United States.” That really shook Fermi up and he decided to move ahead, because if the Germans beat the Americans to this, it would be an absolute disaster."

David N. Schwartz wrote in 2017, The Last Man Who Knew Everything: The Life and
Times of Enrico Fermi, Father of the Nuclear Age.  Fermi built the first nuclear reactor
 as part of that Manhattan Project in Chicago.

"February marks Black History Month in which the contributions of black people are honored.

"The best example is Norbert Rillieux, a freeman born in New Orleans in 1806. In 1830, he went to study engineering in Paris. There he invented a process for refining sugar. Not only did he give us white sugar but he transformed the chemical industry.

"Nick Weldon wrote in 2021, “Rillieux’s invention, the multiple-effect evaporator, streamlined what had been a slow and costly process for purifying cane juice by using a series of vacuum chambers that used heat more efficiently and reduced waste. The result: cheaper, better sugar. The method changed the sugar industry — and, later, all kinds of industrial processes — such that some historians compare it to what Eli Whitney’s gin did for cotton.”

"He was not the first black man to get a U.S. patent. In fact, he was turned down for one patent because the patent office thought he was a slave and slaves had no rights. They were considered property and whatever inventions they made belonged top the massa.

"The first black patent honor went to Thomas L. Jennings, a freeman and a tailor who patented the process for modern dry cleaning in 1821. The National Inventors Hall of Fame said on the bicentennial of his patent, “Not only did Jennings manage to acquire a patent in 1821, but he also dedicated much of his earnings to supporting the abolitionist and desegregation movements, helping others defend their rights and achieve their goals.”

"He was civil rights before there were civil rights. Back of the bus? A century before Rosa Parks, his daughter sued to get on the bus. New York City banned blacks from riding in street cars. She won the case. Her lawyer was Chester Arthur, a future president.

"Then there is Robert Smalls, a slave who commandeered a Confederate boat in the Civil War and made his way to freedom. He joined the Navy and eventually became a captain. After the war, he served 5 terms in Congress.

"The point of Black History Month was to build the esteem and reputation of black people, who are one-eighth of the U.S. population. I am cool with that.

"But what about the other seven-eighths of the population? We didn’t sit around eating bonbons while watching slaves pick cotton.

"Consider Italians. Most of them arrived after slavery. They are associated with pizza and the Mafia but they were far more than that." . . .