Reflecting on the recent news it appears that the Teapublicans believe that the lowest earning Americans earning a few more dollars would be destructive of the American economy. Meanwhile, a young man named Kwesi Enin has, by his excellence, illustrated the great divide in this country when it comes to affirmative action. And finally, Boko Haram has proven itself to be a truly demonic and demented terrorist organization. What, if anything, is the United States supposed to do about it?

You Want More?

In considering the Teapublican position on increasing the minimum wage one is reminded of the scene in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, when the poor, hungry urchin is greeted with outrage when he asks for some more gruel.

While the upper reaches of the American upper class literally cannot count the millions and billions that are cascading into their coffers, there is this apoplectic response to the concept of a minimal raise for minimum wage earners who constitute barely 4% of the workforce.

Would a few extra dollars in the pockets of the men and women who actually labor in the trenches really tamper with the forces of nature? Would a few monetary crumbs, that mean so little to the Masters of the Universe but would mean so much to the working poor, be so difficult to support?

Clearly the Teapublicans in the House and Senate, bloviating about states’ rights and protecting the national economy are revealing themselves to be on the wrong side of meanness, stinginess and basic economic common sense.

Watch This Space

Kwesi Enin is the young man who was recently admitted to all eight Ivy League schools. He has chosen to attend Yale University. That should be the denouement in a great story until we read about his marvelous achievements that his future seems to promise.

But the haters and naysayers who swim in the sewer of negativity characterized his amazing admissions record as an indication of what is wrong with affirmative action. Without knowing Mr. Enin’s grades or SAT scores, they assumed that his academic qualifications were not as good as his competition, simply because he is an African American.

The shameful bigotry and racial prejudice that continues to flow through the veins of the American body politic is clear and present —- and dangerous.

Who are These Guys?

The terrorist organization Boko Haram has been wreaking havoc in Nigeria for several years. Pursuing a strategy of murder and mayhem, Boko Haram seems hell bent on destabilizing what should be the most advanced country on the African continent.

Boko Haram has dominated the international media by kidnapping over 300 young women and threatening to sell them as slaves. The horrific and medieval mindset of the Boko Haram operatives is frightening to contemplate and one can only hope that this latest story of terror by religious zealots will not have an unhappy ending.

Stay strong and be great!