Month: February 2025
Black People Won Super Bowl LIX
It’s hard not to conclude that Kendrick Lamar “pwnd” Donald Trump (and Drake, too) during the Super Bowl LIX halftime show yesterday. The first U.S. president to attend a Super Bowl was treated to a full-on rap storm for 20 minutes, which must have rocked his white-supremacist soul to its rotten core.
The cultural fact is, the Black people have won. The spineless National Football League, by taking a metaphorical knee in anticipation of the arrival of the Racist-in-Chief and removing the “End Racism” message from the end zones and replacing it with “Choose Love,” joined the oligarchs and media companies in capitulating to Trump.
But it’s too late. In 2023, fully 53.1% of players in the NFL were Black, and if you want to see who owns Super Bowl halftime shows, just consider this from CBS Sports:
On Sunday, Kendrick Lamar took the stage in New Orleans. In 2024, Usher took the stage in Las Vegas. In 2023, Rihanna took the stage at State Farm Stadium during Super Bowl LVII. Before that, five performers took the stage for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles, California: Eminem, Dr. Dre. Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Mary J. Blige performed halfway through the Rams win over the Bengals.
Seven years ago, Trump mounted a campaign against Black NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. But what really galled him was when the Super Bowl–winning Philadelphia Eagles in 2018 declined his invitation for the traditional winner’s visit to the White House, so he “uninvited” them:
The Philadelphia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, but the Super Bowl winners’ traditional White House visit is canceled after a host of players decline to attend.
“The Philadelphia Eagles Football Team was invited to the White House,” Trump says. “Unfortunately, only a small number of players decided to come, and we canceled the event. Staying in the Locker Room for the playing of our National Anthem is as disrespectful to our country as kneeling.”
Trump and his racist followers can bitch and complain about it all they want, but the fight is over: people of color are the true Super Bowl winners.
Dictator of Culture
When it comes to culture, Trump thinks he knows what’s best.
He’s taking control of the Kennedy Center at no one’s behest.
Gone will be the orchestras,
The virtuosos and the operas,
And in their stead we’ll get Kid Rock, Carrie Underwood and Kanye West.
Trumponomics: Eggflation Continues to Escalate
$7.30
The cost of eggs continues to hit record highs in the US, with data from the USDA showing wholesale prices above $7.30 for a dozen large white eggs (see data here; click on “Egg Markets Overview”). The figure is up from around $5 at the beginning of the year and almost three times as much year over year.
Murphy Warns thet Trump Is Mounting an Assault on Democracy
“I think this is the most serious constitutional crisis the country has faced, certainly since Watergate. The president is attempting to seize control of power, and for corrupt purposes.”
— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) warned of an “assault on the Constitution” under President Donald Trump, ABC News reports.
Waltz ‘Thinks,’ He Doesn’t Know?
“I don’t think there’s any plans to invade Canada.”
— National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, on Meet the Press.
Trump and His Plans Are Popular — For Now
53% to 47%
With most describing him as “tough,” “energetic,” “focused” and “effective” — and as doing what he’d promised during his campaign, a new CBS News poll finds President Trump has started his term with an approval rate of 53% to 47%. One takeaway: 59% of voters approve of mass deportation and 64% support sending troops to the U.S. Mexico border.
Voters Are Lighting Up the Senate Switchboard
1,600
New York Times: “Senators were informed this week that the Senate phone system was receiving 1,600 calls per minute, a sharp increase from the usual 40 calls a minute … While the phones had not completely stopped ringing, as they have in the past under heavy loads, members were told that some constituents would be sent straight to voice mail to prevent a complete shutdown.”
Lying Liars of Loyalty
Please answer the question, “Who’s your real boss?”
This is serious — not just partisan dross.
If you want a job with the FBI,
You have to be loyal enough to lie.
It’s your employment gain, but it’s democracy’s loss.
