Tell him Boy, Bye

The Tale of Two Town Halls

Last night, there were competing town hall meetings for President Trump and Joe Biden. Not going to lie, I mostly watched Joe Biden and not even all of it. I have already voted and these town halls were not projected to change much for voters. 

In Pennsylvania: Biden talked about a comprehensive plan for COVID and needing all the governors to be on the same page. Biden will not shut down the country, but he will ask everyone to wear masks,  even though he knows he can’t enforce that. He also clarified his tax plan in that he will keep the tax cuts for those making less than $400K. Biden continued to avoid the court packing question. Personally, I don’t think he would. Of note, a young black voter asked Biden about the “you ain’t black” comment and Biden’s answer was a LONG list of issues and “fixes” for the “Black community.  When he was done the voter looked more confused as did I.

In Miami: Trump couldn’t remember if he took a COVID test the day he debated Biden. He also thinks that COVID is on the down trend, despite all evidence to the contrary. He was also asked to answer for his debt owed as revealed by the NYT. He said the $400 million is only a small portion of his net worth and he doesn’t know of any foreign entities he owns money. Trump is also still holding on to those tax returns. 

Overall this was dumb. Debates are good. Competing town halls are dumb. I stand by this. 

Disney… No longer the Happiest Place on Earth

These days Disney is getting it from all sides. Wednesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote a letter criticizing the company for its recent layoffs of over 28,000 workers. The majority of which are part-time workers at Disney parks. More were fired from the Florida park versus the California one, even though California is not allowed to open. 

Warren pointed out that the company has made a number of moves in the last few years that rewarded executives and shareholders. These decisions left them with less available capital to potentially get through the pandemic. They included reinstating executive salaries, stock buyback programs, and huge executive pay packages. With the CEO making over 1000 times more than the average Disney worker, Warren has a point. Disney this is not a good look. 

From the shareholders. Disney also has billionaire investor Dan Loeb, who owns $613 million of Disney shares, to contend with. He wants the company to focus on Disney+ because he believes that’s where the growth opportunities are for the company.

Meg … the Stallion/Activist

Turns out the SNL performance was just the beginning for Megan Pete. Rapper Megan the Stallion has since written an op-ed piece for the New York Times advocating for black women. I respect her.  In the article she drops many truths. One of which is  that “it’s ridiculous that some people think the simple phrase “Protect Black women” is controversial.” She touched on Black maternal mortality rates, the public’s comments about her body, and many historical black women. I enjoyed the piece. Keep it coming and #ProtectBlackWomen. 

Is Ice Cube Melting

Continuing with the dumpster fire of a year that is 2020, we are now talking about Ice Cube, his contract with Black American and Trump’s “Platinum Plan.” Yep, that Ice Cube….NWA, Boy N’ the Hood, Friday, Ride Along, Ice Cube. According to WaPo, he apparently has been working for a year on a Contract with Black America (CWBA). After reaching out to both political parties, Trump has made some “adjustments” to his plan. The Contract calls for banking and lending reform, baby bonds, the abolishment of private prisons, and more. I don’t believe anyone has a problem with the idea that Ice Cube & Friends have come up with a comprehensive plan to move Black America forward. However, the issue comes when 3 weeks out from an election, you allow Trump to use your name to continue to lie about what he has done or will do for Black America. While, I understand the idea that to get some of these things done it will require working with whoever ends up in the White House. Its current occupant is known to lie and use black people as props, especially around campaign time. And Ice Cube letting him, is very disappointing. Also, let’s be honest, if Trump is re-elected Cube will have to hold the CWBA for another 4 years because this administration will do nothing with it. And Ice Cube has to know that. 

So what’s the point? For Trump: He can pretend to have Black Votes. For Ice Cube: We are looking and talking about his plan. Maybe it’s the old adage that all publicity is good publicity.  In fact, Cube did not respond to Washington Post’s request for comment, but he talked to TMZ. That pretty much tells me all I need to know. 

Cube also tweeted that CNN canceled a previously scheduled Cuomo interview because they didn’t want to hear the truth. CNN did not answer, but Cube also claims that he was banned from CNN months ago. 

Well, good luck with all that Cube because people are pissed.