Mayor Turner’s comradeship with the Main Stream Media – the destructive consequences

The mayoral sector might be under bombardment by the mainstream media. Without doubt, Mayor Turner’s office has been penetrated, and Ms. Ward’s email scandal might just be the beginning.

For several weeks, Darian Ward, the Press Secretary of Houston’s mayor Sylvester Turner made headlines in virtually every Houston’s media outlet. This was about a story investigation that exposed her misuse of City’s resources for her own personal production company. Ms. Ward’s official misstep was a sorry tale. She had ran her reality show production deals in New York and Los Angeles with City’s email account. To make it even worse, more than 5,000 pages consisting of over 2,000 emails were already recovered and some of them are publicly displayed.

Even after the City suspended Ms. Ward without pay for 10 days in December, some observers believed that was not enough. However, in a surprise development on Friday, Mayor Turner announced both Ms. Ward’s voluntary resignation and her replacement on.

Based on her training and experience of the City’s administrative process, Ward’s transgressions – a flouting of her moral obligations might be very hard to defend. Yet, it is strange and remains a surprise that her personal deals ended up in the media. This might also mean that Major Turner and his entire team on 901 Bagby Street are deeply under media systematic searchlight and scrutiny.

For clarity, the mainstream media fraternity is a fragmented domain of capitalists, policy brokers, and political strategists who exploit their editorial privilege to manipulate community interests. Their business network is predatory. For instance, they would create community sectors and local news sections to give the false impression that they are committed to building the community. They would penetrate community leaders and local politicians with influential circulation and viewership, then systematically uplift those that serve their ideological interests, while those leaders, especially women and minorities who are passionate about core community matters are ran into the ditch.

Ironically, Mayor Turner is not new to this system. In his political career, he has experienced the damaging wraths of the mainstream, the foremost being his brush with Wayne Dolcefino’s 1991 investigative report into his alleged shady insurance dealings.

It may be recalled that the 1991 Houston mayor’s race which included incumbent Kathy Whitmire, Bob Lanier, and Turner ended up in squared off between Lanier and Turner. Six days before this runoff, KTRK decided to air Wayne’s report on Turner. While the subject was the insurance fraud, the story further made another surprise revelation – that Turner, a married man, was living with a “life-long friend” Dwight Thomas. The intention to air this story a few days before a heated run-off election is explicably a premeditated attempt to perpetrate destructive consequences on Turners possible victory.

With this incident alone, it is expected that Mayor Turner would have learnt his lessons about the risks of flirting with the mainstream media clan. Regrettably, and soon after he was sworn in January 2016, Mayor Turner once again open his arms to the oppressors of the conventional media – shuttling their newsrooms, studios, and shows; and welcoming them all around his official realms.

To his credit, Mayor Turner’s team tried to align with a coalition of diverse Houston media practitioners in his early period in office. This was in 2016. He had invited individuals of the local media to a lunch and briefed them on the state of the City’s business. Again, this event accomplished nothing but free lunch and photo ops for the blogs.

Ultimately, the Mayor’s inability to effectively create the appropriate media partners to project and protect his mission might hunt down his path to success.

Notwithstanding, the fact remains that this Mayor might not even recognize most minority media outlets, as he enjoys his fascination with the big media – granting unprecedented attention to matters of the mainstream. The lucky Mayor got carried away with his big media buddies, enjoying their courtship as he made their local news headlines from every angle. Regrettably, the mayor and his media cohorts relegated their Black Press to email lists of ineffectual press releases announcing his schedules and trade mission trips around the globe. Indeed, his intoxication for the big media grew overboard leaving him with little or no strategies to effectively supervise handlers of his communication zone.

Mayor Turner perhaps could have simply learnt from Mayor P. Lee Brown’s Black Press Strategy Book. Soon after Mayor Brown became the city’s first Black mayor in 1997, he created a network of Black Press consisting of media owners. He met with them every month to discuss his policies; minority media prospects, and strategies to project and protect g the city’s agenda. The coffees and cookies were not that good, yet those meetings were very resourceful. The Black media gang stood in-between Mayor Brown and the mainstream oppressors, creating a forum that commendably addressed complexities of city politics. That was not all. Mayor Brown and his Mayor Pro Tem, Jew Don Boney Jr. knew all Black-owned media by heart, their locations, owners, and editorial calendars. Mayor Brown also courted the Houston Association of Black Journalists, and personally visited their meetings regularly to share concerns and prospects.

It is most relevant and safer for minority leaders to entrust their information and essential engagements with media entities that share their passion, communal interests, and governance ideologies. Anytime they step beyond these boundaries, they fail.

These relationships paid off in Mayor Brown’s reelection bid when he won his third and final two-year term by narrowly beating Orlando Sanchez, a city councilman who was trying to become the city’s first Hispanic mayor. The Black Press – a combined print circulation of more than 200,000 free copies from more than 15 newspapers at the time, coupled with electronic media outlets went on rampage to create the needed awareness that kept their guy in the office for his last term.

In a full confession mode –Chris Begala, spokesman for Mr. Sanchez, acknowledged strong support from Hispanic voters as well as Anglo voters but not enough to overcome the turnouts from predominantly black neighborhoods.

But the current development logically signals a bombardment of the mayoral sector by the mainstream media. Without doubt, Mayor Turner’s office has been penetrated, and Ms. Ward’s email scandal might just be the beginning. Ultimately, the Mayor’s inability to effectively create the appropriate media partners to project and protect his mission might hunt down his path to success. Similarly, his love affair with the mainstream media oppressors may have boomeranged. And for other minority leaders who do not know, the mainstream media is like the Insurance Companies. They are simply, not just your friends.

It may sound unusual, but the only leaders who would fall into such trap are those intoxicated by the mainstream media identity. Smart leaders identify with the very media that originates from the cultural base. They align with indigenous media houses that serve as community partners rather than merchants for abnormal profits. Hence, it is most relevant and safer for minority leaders to entrust their information and essential engagements with media entities that share their passion, communal interests, and governance ideologies. Anytime they step beyond these boundaries, they fail.

■ International Guardian Publisher Anthony Obi Ogbo, PhD is the author of “The Influence of Leadership.” Contact: anthony@guardiannews.us

House Democrats to bring ‘Dreamers,’ sexual assault victims to President Trump’s State of the Union Address

Several House Democrats will bring Dreamers as guests to next Tuesday’s State of the Union Address, a move that comes as the White House announced it will present a new immigration framework to Congress Monday that offers a pathway to citizenship for as many as 1.8 million children brought to the U.S. illegally.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer announced Thursday night that Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., will deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s address to Congress. Virginia Del. Elizabeth Guzman will deliver the Spanish-language response.

At least 24 House Democrats will bring a Dreamer to watch from the House gallery as President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union speech, according to a list a congressional official provided to ABC News.

The #MeToo movement will also have a significant presence next Tuesday. Ten lawmakers are bringing sexual assault victims or women activists as their guests, according to the list, which includes the guests of about 70 House Democrats.

Other Democrats, however, will not be in attendance next Tuesday. Rep. John Lewis said he would not attend after Trump made his controversial remarks about people from “s—hole” countries coming to the United States.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will have a Dreamer as her guest, as will Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.

Pelosi’s office slammed the president’s immigration proposal Thursday as did Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a fervent advocate for immigrants who is bringing a Dreamer as his guest.

Six other Democrats are bringing guests related to the immigration debate, mostly people who have had a family member deported.

Rep. Debbie Dingell is bringing Cindy Garcia, the wife of a man deported last week.

Jorge Garcia, a UAW worker and father of two, was “brought to this country as a child by his parents, never so much as had a parking ticket,” Dingell told ABC News. “I have been trying to help this family for some time.”

She added bringing a guest affected by the immigration debate puts a “human face” on the issue. “This isn’t a war of words between Republicans and Democrats — it is real people’s lives,” she said.

Rep. Jackie Speier, a leading voice on reforming the system for reporting sexual harassment in Congress, will bring Fatima Goss Graves, the President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, as her guest. The NWLC is managing the legal defense fund for Times UP movement.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman will bring Rose Gunter, Recy Taylor’s neice, as her guest. Taylor was raped by six white men in 1944 and her name returned to prominence after Oprah Winfrey cited her story at the Golden Globe awards earlier this month. Rep. Brenda Lawrence is bringing author and activist Danielle McGuire, whose book “At the Dark End of the Street” highlighted Taylor’s case, as her guest.

Rep. Suzan DelBene is bringing Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, the CEO of Moms Rising, as her guest.

On its guest list, the Democratic Party is highlighting two major topics lawmakers are dealing with in Congress. Immigration reform, including a solution for Dreamers, was a key reason the government shut down for three days beginning last weekend.

And Congress is still dealing with the fallout from allegations of sexual harassment by some members and the criticism lawmakers have faced for using taxpayer money to pay for settlements.

Lawmakers have unveiled a Me Too Act that would overhaul the policies and reporting procedures when it comes to sexual harassment on Capitol Hill.

The #MeToo and Times UP movement took a prominent role at another high-profile event earlier this month when actresses wore black to the Golden Globes in support of sexual assault victims. Several of the women brought prominent women rights activists as their dates.

While the president is likely to mention immigration reform and hope for Dreamers in his address next week, it’s less likely he would mention the #MeToo movement. Both issues will likely be major ones in this year’s mid-term election, which is seeing large numbers of women run for the House and Senate.

John Parkinson, Ali Rogin, and Mariam Kahn contributed to this report.

Zimbabwe university releases Grace Mugabe’s PhD thesis

HARARE (Reuters) – The University of Zimbabwe has published former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s PhD thesis after an anti-corruption watchdog said it was investigating whether the wife of ousted President Robert Mugabe was wrongly awarded a doctorate three years ago.

Grace graduated in 2014, the same year she launched her career in the ruling ZANU-PF party, a power push that led ultimately to November’s de facto coup by political rivals worried she was set to take over from her husband.

In contravention of its normal practice, the university did not publish her 226-page thesis, entitled “The changing social structure and functions of the family: The case of children’s homes in Zimbabwe”, until this week, when it was released on its website (http://ir.uz.ac.zw/handle/10646/3463).

It was not clear why Grace, who runs a children’s home near her family dairy farm outside Harare, used her second name and maiden surname – Ntombizodwa G. Marufu – for the paper.

University of Zimbabwe vice chancellor Levi Nyagura did not respond to calls for comment.

There had been widespread speculation that Grace had been fraudulently awarded the doctorate, which was dedicated to her husband “because of his dedication and commitment to the well-being of the people of Zimbabwe”.

But Grace, who was lauded as “learned mother of the nation” by adulating followers, defended her academic record, telling a ZANU-PF rally in September that she had earned her PhD when her detractors thought otherwise.

In its abstract, Grace acknowledged that one weakness of her research was that “some interviewees tended to tell me what they thought I wanted to hear”.

Goodson Nguni, lead investigator at the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission, could not be reached for comment on whether the anti-graft agency would continue with its probe.

New President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made fighting corruption a top priority. Mnangagwa, 75, told the World Economic Forum in Davos this week Mugabe and his wife Grace had not been granted immunity from prosecution.

Trump sends ‘warmest regards’ to African leaders after reported slur

Trump congratulated Kagame on taking over as chair of the African Union. (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

Davos (Switzerland) (AFP) – US President Donald Trump on Friday asked the African Union chairman to pass on his “warmest regards” to other regional leaders at a summit this weekend, after sparking outrage with a reported slur against Africans.

Trump met Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where some African business leaders say they are planning to boycott Trump’s closing speech later Friday.

The outspoken US leader congratulated Kagame on taking over as chair of the 55-nation African bloc, which Trump said was a “great honour”.

“I know you’re going to your first meeting shortly. Please give my warmest regards,” Trump told Kagame after they held a one-on-one meeting at the forum.

The US president ignored questions shouted by journalists about his reported dismissal this month of African nations as “shithole countries”, during a meeting on immigration with congressional leaders.

The reported remark drew outrage around the world and prompted several African governments to demand explanations from their US ambassadors.

The African Union demanded an apology, although Trump has denied making the remark as relayed by US lawmakers who were present at the meeting.

A week ago, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley expressed regret about the controversy in a meeting with African envoys, the head of the UN’s African Group said, after the envoys released a joint statement demanding an apology from Trump for his “outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks”.

In Davos, Trump said he had “tremendous discussions” with Kagame, who for his part said they had “good discussions” about the economy and trade.

Not placated, South African businessman Bonang Mohale said he and dozens of others planned to shun Trump’s speech in Davos on Friday afternoon.

“We are absolutely repulsed and shocked and angry that he could call the people of El Salvador and Haiti and Africa ‘shitholes’,” Mohale, who heads the Business Leadership South Africa forum, told AFP in Davos.

He noted that Trump had also reportedly expressed a preference for immigrants from overwhelmingly white Norway, and said: “We remind him that America itself is a nation of immigrants.”

Also in Davos, Oxfam executive director Winnie Byanyima noted that some Africans are talking even of walking out of Trump’s speech rather than just staying away.

“I will not attend the speech. I’m busy,” the Ugandan told AFP.

“Trump is just one of a kind, a member of the elite who has chosen to serve the interests of a few at the top, at the expense of ordinary people,” she said.

Rev. Jesse Jackson expected in Houston as Keynote Speaker at HCC’s 2018 Black History Scholarship Gala

Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is one of America’s foremost civil rights, religious and political figures. Jackson worked closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson will be the keynote speaker at the 2018 Houston Community College Black History Scholarship Gala.

The gala will be held 6 p.m., Saturday, February 24, at the HCC West Houston Institute, 2811 Hayes Rd., Houston, TX 77082.

The West Houston Institute is a new, visionary facility comprised of state-of-the-art classrooms and conference spaces, all designed to serve as a real-world think tank and incubator for new methods of teaching, learning and exploring ideas.

Jackson will speak on this year’s gala theme: “The Politics Of.” Now in its 12th year, the HCC Black History Scholarship Gala raises funds for deserving HCC students.

Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, is one of America’s foremost civil rights, religious and political figures. Jackson worked closely with the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1960s. He has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Jackson is a two-time presidential candidate, and has been credited with securing the release of hostages and political prisoners through diplomacy. He was ordained in 1968 and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000.

In addition to Jackson’s speech, other prominent leaders in Houston’s business, education, sports, entertainment and political communities will be recognized with Lifetime Achievement Awards and Unstoppable Leadership honors at the scholarship gala.

Jackson, American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and politician, who was also a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 has been known for commanding public attention since he first started working for Martin Luther King Jr.In 1965, Jackson participated in the Selma to Montgomery marches organized by James Bevel, King and other civil rights leaders in Alabama. Impressed by Jackson’s drive and organizational abilities, King soon began giving Jackson a role in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), though he was concerned about Jackson’s apparent ambition and attention-seeking. When Jackson returned from Selma, he was charged with establishing a frontline office for the SCLC in Chicago.

Houston Community College (HCC) is composed of 15 Centers of Excellence and numerous satellite centers that serve the diverse communities in the Greater Houston area by preparing individuals to live and work in an increasingly international and technological society. HCC is one of the country’s largest singly-accredited, open-admission, community colleges offering associate degrees, certificates, workforce training, and lifelong learning opportunities. To learn more, visit www.hccs.edu.

EPISTEMOLOGY OF LEADING: WHAT LEADERSHIP IS NOT

Deconstructing the ontological meaning, interpretation, and application of leadership

By ANTHONY OBI OGBO
M.B.A., M.HM, P.hD.

With unimaginable measures of definitions, the sense and discipline of leadership and the act of leading still face ontological inadequacies. Authors, researchers, and theorists of leadership, for many years, have crafted their definitions from countless perspectives, justifying the conceptual relevance of each meaning with substantial phenomenological facts. In fact, most definitions are submerged in theoretical concepts of organizing people to manage their environment, politics, and resources; whereas the proper identification and deconstruction of practice insufficiencies gradually diminish out of consideration. For example, most definitions of leadership might end up investigating the epistemic standards of leading or managing success; but perhaps, to an extent, would least consider the very senseless trends leaders embrace at the detriment of their constituents. This essay, however, invokes the definition of leadership from the rearmost view by metaphorically invigorating significant theories and concepts to convey the meaning and application of leadership.

The article as a purpose, provides remedies to the disparaging afflictions of leading beyond the conjectural boundaries of organizing people, their hope, and aspiration. Passages in this article in explaining the process of leading or managing, offer substantial clues on how leaders or managers could harness their resources and translate their communal crisis into a plantation of economic possibilities. Consequently, in a shear reversal, rather than asking and explaining what leadership is or should be, the approach in this paper emerges from a backmost standpoint to ask and convey what leadership is not and should not be.

So let us proceed then with what leading is not, by first clarifying that leadership is not voodoo. It is not a ping-pong political affair, neither is it a fanfare business; it is a social science. In fact, in the broadest sense, the application of leadership must make sense. It must raise philosophical clarification in meaning and practice. It could be argued that the tradition of leadership must appeal a real-world epistemic connotation of organizational objectives, and implore execution actions. Nonetheless, if the exercise of leading does not breed tranquility of commonsense; ontological humility; if this process does not enthuse the spectacle of wisdom, where leaders learn from followers and followers learn from leaders; where leaders uplift followers and followers uplift leaders; or perhaps, where both camps walk side-by-side in solidarity over transcending challenges, it is not leadership

It might be acknowledged that effective leadership demands an integration of sociotechnical systems and tasks. Thus, if the process does not assume a driven expedition for innovation through a sociotechnical approach, whereby technological work procedures are incorporated with human emotions and actions, it is not leadership. It must be acknowledged that web applications are not humans but gadgets – thus leadership must not just focus on technical shortcuts to solving problems, but also could display a human face. Therefore, if the process is not strategized by intellectual actions; if the practice does not flow in-between the stakeholders of the organizations and the leadership; it is not leadership.

Consequently, if the practice does not share task-related thoughts; emit a learning culture, and instill a focus on both human attitude and information conveyance, it is far from leadership. Effective communication is a good process for managing attitude. Through open communication, leaders can amplify innovation by expediting, planning, goal-setting, exchange of information, and reduction of misunderstandings. Therefore, if the practice does not task the aptitude to listen, understand, sympathize, coach, and mentor; and furthermore, if the practice does not create a culture of transparency and information control to bond the leader and the led; it is not leadership.

Leadership is not a one-man process. Leaders do have subordinates, which conceivably are partners in the organizational development process. Isolating such cohorts in the decision process often leaves a structure of monocracy or tyranny. Therefore, if the leading process does not recognize subordinates as partners in business; and adopt them as allies in the change transformation venture, where the fundamental process of embracing something new implores a construction of sociopolitical awareness and shared collective interests, it is not leadership.

In quest of organizational transformation, amidst transcending global economic challenges, if activities do not entail the bone to take risks and facilitate innovative solutions to achieve unexpected outcomes, it is not leadership. This author in an approach to explore the content and discipline of organizational leadership in its entirety argues that the passion and basic skill set of leading might not be enough in making the organization great. A leader must be armed with the intellectual capacity to manage and motivate a culture of risk-taking. The audacity of leadership represents a scepter of human endurance, individual courage, and resolute idiosyncrasy. Therefore, if the process does not involve the propensity to tackle unparalleled trials of experimentation, potential threats and failure, it is not leadership.

It is appropriate to ensure that a broad enough human resources base must be allocated to innovation-related activities. As a part of organizational culture, tolerating failure makes organizations more innovative. In fact, people will not try to do new things if they know that they will be punished if they are unsuccessful. The process of taking risks must dovetail the fail-factor. In other words, a process that encourages risk-taking in the leading sector could reward failure as a learning tool. When leaders or managers dismiss such failures triggered by the risks of innovation with regulations and penalties, they are merely suppressing the passion to create something new. Therefore, if the organizational culture and structure do not create the standards for taking risks; if the system does not recognize the practical meaning of failure from the perspective of learning – it is far from leadership.

But the charismatic aspect of the act of leading is often played down, especially where a capitalistic quest for profitability engulfs human empathy. A leader must have a human face and exhibit compassion. If he does inspire empathy; that is, if he lacks the compassionate characteristics concomitant with the milk of human kindness[i] – if he does not resonate with the plights of the commonalities and share their traditional values and collective aspiration – the practice is far from leadership.

In a current era of social, political, and economic uncertainties, the language of leadership could build hope rather than fear; emit love rather than hate and animosity; orate peace rather than hatred; and accordingly, build unity rather than division. As Mahātmā Mohandas Gandhi noted[ii], “Service without humility is selfishness and egotism.” Therefore; if he talks like Robert Mugabe[iii]; twits like Trump[iv]; and parades the pitiless disposition of Kim Jong-un[v]; it is not leadership.

The values of the team aspect of leading or managing must be acknowledged too. Leadership success is a group phenomenon – and could entail an organized collaboration of individuals to accomplish tasks, solve problems, and collectively dissuade impending organizational or management challenges. Thus, if the process lacks the team atmosphere and signals unchallenged authority; or embraces the team setting but undermines its collaborative actions – it is not leadership.

The application of leadership must galvanize a culture of transformation, inspire the masses, and carry them along toward the finishing contours of mission accomplishment. As a leader or manager, it might not just be enough to oversee and appraise routine tasks and activities. It is the leader’s responsibility to supervise strategies for moving the organization from a present state to an upper level of economic possibilities. A leader must be able to speak the language of transformation with an accent pertinent to innovation and change structures. Therefore, and finally, if it does not speak the language of transformation; does not recognize the values of innovation; in other words, if it undermines the necessities of change and undercuts the technology of organizational reformation and progress, it is not leadership.

_________________________________

[i] Phrase ‘Milk of human kindness’ expressing care and compassion for others was derived from work of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, 1605. Reference quote: “Yet doe I feare thy Nature, It is too full o’ th’ Milke of humane kindnesse.” (Shakespeare’s Macbeth, 1605).

[ii] Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer Mahātmā Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India.

[iii] Noted for controversial racist rhetoric, Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician, Robert Gabriel Mugabe served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017.

[iv] Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States, in office since January 20, 2017 whose addiction to Twitter could adversely reshape the presidency.

[v] Termed world’s foremost living dictator, Kim Jong-un is the Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea and supreme leader of North Korea since 2011. Under his rule, North Korea remains among the world’s most repressive countries.

_____________________________

About the Author

Dr. Anthony Obi Ogbo is the Publisher/Editor of International Guardian News in Houston, Texas; author of The Influence of Leadership, and the Strategic Advisor, Center of Excellence, Consumer Arts and Sciences at the Houston Community College. Profile: http://www.ajtlonline.org/dr.–anthony-obi-ogbo.html

Is Trump a racist? The Answer is yes, and harmfully xenophobic too

If I may recall, the controversy is about President Trump’s recent comment, where he reportedly referred to African nations and Haiti as “shithole countries” during a bipartisan meeting on immigration. He had questioned why the United States needs “more Haitians” and suggested instead that the country take in more immigrants from places like Norway. Mr. Trump’s comments have since received unparalleled stretch of condemnation all over the world.

Amidst an avalanche of editorial commentaries extensively scrutinizing these verbal excesses, I had stumbled into some analysts dialoguing in sheer controversy on the meaning of racism and who or who is not racist. My first thought was, being a Black in America – and worse, having originated from one of Trump’s “shithole countries,” do I really need the dictionary, or any reference book to define racism?” Of course not, because at this stage in my career and at my age, I do understand “racism”, and likewise, I can identify a racist even without my reading glasses.

But America should not just be worried about Trump’s racial verbosity and actions. In fact, the population should be more concerned about his belief that he is not a racist. Here is what he told reporters at the Trump International Golf course following reports of his “shithole” comments: “I am not a racist. I’m the least racist person you will ever interview.” Now, this is where we should be concerned, because this man apparently does not know that he is a racist.

This is the same Trump, whose real-estate company refused to rent apartments to African-Americans in the 1970s; gave preferential treatment to Whites, and faced a federal lawsuit which was eventually settled. And we must also have heard that Trump treated his black employees at his casinos differently from Whites, and once criticized a black accountant saying: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks.”

This was the same Trump who led a hateful campaign that the nation’s first Black President was not born in the United States but in Kenya. Till date, Trump is yet to apologize for this blunder, but has continued to exhibit his utter detestation of his predecessor, simply because of his skin color.

I am really not going to waste my editorial space rehearsing the horrific chronology of President Trump’s exhibition of his discriminatory eccentricity, but it would be fair to mention that this man began his 2016 presidential campaign with a speech disparaging Mexican immigrants as criminals and “rapists.” As President, Mr. Trump called for total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. He further ordered a refusal to readmit Muslim-American citizens who were outside of the country at the time.

We could go all day reciting some unspeakable racist actions of President Trump who claims he is not a racist. Yet, he was quick to refer a federal judge hearing a case about the Trump University as “prejudiced” because of the judge’s Mexican heritage. As if this was not enough – and very recently Trump said 15,000 recent immigrants from Haiti “all have AIDS” and that 40,000 Nigerians, once seeing the United States, would never “go back to their huts” in Africa.

With hundreds of President Trump’s racist overtures yet to be added to this list, how could anyone, in his or her right sense argue that he is not a racist? As if his declarative support for White Supremacists and his depiction of minorities as nonsensically ungrateful were not enough, Trump has frequently condemned prominent African-Americans as unpatriotic, ungrateful and disrespectful; and called Puerto Ricans who criticized his poor response to Hurricane Maria “politically motivated ingrates.” What nonsense!

I would conclude by revisiting that same question about whether Trump is or is not a racist. Yes, President Trump is a dishonest racist and harmfully xenophobic too. Here is a painstaking bigoted vandal who wangled into the White House as President, with a long history of every attribute associated with racism. As President Trump himself once said, “When somebody challenges you, fight back. Be brutal, be tough.” Ironically, Trump, an imprudent hypocrite who is currently married to an immigrant with an accent as heavy as mine remains America’s biggest leadership challenge. Thus he must, in his own words, be confronted with ‘tough’ and ‘brutal’ attitude to curtail his extraordinary narrow-minded and racist comportments.

■ International Guardian Publisher Anthony Obi Ogbo, PhD is the author of “The Influence of Leadership.”
Contact: anthony@guardiannews.us

Trump’s Homeland Security Chief Not Sure If Norway Is Mostly White

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Tuesday that she doesn’t know if Norway is predominantly white.

Testifying under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Nielsen dodged questions about the president reportedly saying last week, in a White House meeting about immigration, that African countries are a “shithole” and that he preferred that immigrants come from Norway instead. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) pressed Nielsen on the racism driving Trump’s comments, but Nielsen wouldn’t acknowledge it.

“Being from Norway is not a skill,” Leahy said. “What does he mean when he said that?”

“What he was referencing is, from a merit-based perspective, we’d like to have those with skills who can assimilate and contribute to the United States, moving away from country quotas and to an individual merit-based system,” Nielsen replied.

“Norway is a predominantly white country, isn’t it?” continued Leahy.

“I actually do not know that, sir,” Nielsen said, “but I imagine that is the case.”

Here’s a video of their exchange:

LEAHY: "Norway is a predominantly white country, isn't it?"

NIELSEN: "I actually don't know that, sir." (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/SMIFgFe7B3

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 16, 2018

Norway, of course, is one of the whitest countries in the world. It’s residents are 83 percent Norwegian, who are ethnic North Germanic people, and another 8 percent is European, according to the CIA’s World Factbook.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) questioned Nielsen’s ability to do her job if she doesn’t know the general makeup of other countries.

“When you say you don’t know if Norway is predominantly white when asked by a member of the United States Senate, that causes me concern about your ability to understand the scope of your responsibilities and the impact of your words, much less the policies that you promulgate in that very important department,” said Harris.

Nielsen’s answer is bad either way you cut it. If she did know this but wanted to give cover to Trump, she may have just lied under oath. If she somehow did not know that Scandinavian countries are whiter than a pack of arctic foxes rolling through a snow drift, the head of the Department of Homeland Security is unaware of basic global demographics.

Nielsen also told senators she could not recall if Trump used the world “shithole” to describe African nations, even though she was in the meeting where he said it, the White House has not denied he said it and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has publicly confirmed he said it.

Trump kicks CNN reporter out of Oval Office

President Trump kicked CNN star Jim Acosta out of the Oval Office Tuesday after the network’s senior White House correspondent badgered him with racially charged questions.

Acosta has made a habit of grandstanding and interrupting when Trump and his surrogates are available to the media. Tuesday was no exception, as Acosta yelled, “Mr. President,” three times before finally getting Trump’s attention.

“Did you say that you want more people to come in from Norway? Did you say that you wanted more people from Norway? Is that true Mr. President?” Acosta frantically shouted.

“I want them to come in from everywhere… everywhere. Thank you very much everybody,” Trump responded as Acosta continued to bark questions.

“Just Caucasian or white countries, sir? Or do you want people to come in from other parts of the world… people of color,” Acosta shouted.

Trump then pointed directly at Acosta and simply said, “Out!”

A Trump staffer in the background can be heard saying, “Jim, thank you,” before the CNN star presumably exited the room. Acosta then took to Twitter, accusing White House aides of obstructing him from asking questions.

Acosta has been among the most outspoken critics of President Trump and is a significant part of CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker’s apparent anti-Trump programming strategy. Trump has famously dubbed CNN “fake news” and pointed directly at Acosta and called him by the disparaging moniker in the past.

Last December, Acosta was shut down by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders when the liberal reporter tried to hijack a press briefing. Acosta told Sanders that journalists make “honest mistakes” but that doesn’t make them “fake news” before attempting a question. Sanders quickly cut him off.

“When journalists make honest mistakes, they should own up to them. Sometimes, and a lot of times, you don’t,” Sanders said as Acosta tried to interrupt.

“I’m sorry, I’m not finished,” she said. “There is a very big difference between making honest mistakes and purposefully misleading the American people… you cannot say it’s an honest mistake when you’re purposely putting out information you know is false.”

Acosta has also gotten into combative arguments with other members of the administration, including Senior Policy Adviser Stephen Miller. Meanwhile, CNN has been mocked for a variety of anti-Trump segments, such as focusing on the president’s soda intake amid unfolding breaking news related to a terror attack in New York City.

Acosta’s colleague, fellow CNN star Chris Cuomo, apologized on Tuesday after he referred to Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary Raj Shah as “Raj whatever-his-name-is.”

CNN has also aired the uncensored version of the word “s—hole” on a regular basis since Trump reportedly used the term to describe certain African countries. CNN anchors and guests said the profanity 195 times in one day last week, according to the Media Research Center.

The mayoral sector might be under bombardment by the mainstream media. Without doubt, Mayor Turner’s office has been penetrated, and Ms. Ward’s email scandal might just be the beginning.

Ultimately, the Mayor’s inability to effectively create the appropriate media partners to project and protect his mission might hunt down his path to success.

It is most relevant and safer for minority leaders to entrust their information and essential engagements with media entities that share their passion, communal interests, and governance ideologies. Anytime they step beyond these boundaries, they fail.

German prosecutors say they’ve have charged a 27-year-old Nigerian man on allegations he was responsible for multiple killings in his homeland as a member of the militant Boko Haram group.

Deconstructing the ontological meaning, interpretation, and application of leadership

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