I'm an Independent

As a Black man living in Chicago, most people assume I’ll always vote Democrat. That assumption has never sat right with me. I lean Republican and right-of-center these days, but I’m not married to any party. If the right Democrat emerges—one focused on results over ideology—I’m open to crossing the aisle. Right now, though, it feels like the Democratic Party has drifted far from the concerns of everyday Americans.

To me, the modern Democratic Party is no longer the party of the working class or low-income families. It has become consumed with cultural debates—endless focus on LGBTQ+ inclusivity, questioning the definition of a woman, and prioritizing symbolic gestures over practical outcomes.

Look at the cities run by progressive Democrats for decades:

• Chicago, my home, struggles with crime, failing schools, and fiscal chaos under one-party rule.
• New York City now has a mayor who campaigned heavily on socialism and fare-free buses.
• San Francisco—a beautiful city I’ve always wanted to visit—now grapples with rampant homelessness, open drug markets, and a recent push for reparations that feels more performative than solvable.

These aren’t just anecdotes. They reflect a party that often seems more interested in ideological purity than in governing effectively.

That disconnect played a big role in my 2024 vote for Donald Trump. The Biden-Harris administration, in my view, spent more energy on DEI initiatives and global symbolism than on delivering concrete results for Americans—controlling inflation, securing the border, or keeping cities safe. I wanted leaders willing to govern, not just signal virtue. To me, Republicans—at least at the national level in that election—appeared more focused on measurable outcomes.

That said, Republicans are far from perfect. Here in Illinois, I voted twice for Governor Bruce Rauner… and I’m glad to never have to do that again. The point is simple: neither Republicans or Democrats has a monopoly on competence.

Looking ahead in Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker is running for a third term in 2026. Unlike Rauner, Pritzker has actually governed—he’s kept the state running, made decisions, and pushed his agenda through. But I disagree with much of that agenda. The recent law allowing assisted suicide is one example among many progressive policies enacted since 2019 that I find deeply troubling.

Could I vote for Pritzker if no strong alternative emerges? It’s possible, though unlikely. His ongoing public feud with President Trump might hurt him with some voters, but Illinois is deep blue—whether that feud matters will depend on turnout and whether voters prioritize competence over tribal loyalty.

Created by AI

I’m also open to a credible third-party or independent candidate, even if their chances are slim in this state. At the end of the day, my vote goes to whoever I believe can best do the job—whether that’s president, governor, mayor, or state legislator.

Bottom line, I don’t owe blind loyalty to Republicans or Democrats. Expecting Black voters to automatically support Democrats just because of history or identity feels outdated and condescending. I’ll support policies and people that make sense—strong economy, safe streets, good schools, personal responsibility, and common-sense governance.

If I ever run for office myself (unlikely, but never say never), I know that it's a must to pick a formal lane. Until then, I remain an independent thinker who votes for the person, not the party.

What about you? Are you locked into one party, or do you judge candidates individually? Drop your thoughts in the comments—I’d love to hear where others stand as we head into another election year.

Happy Thanksgiving

 It's not often that I get particularly personal on this blog, however, these holidays are going to be very different this year. My situation change with the lost of a dear loved one.

The family home will be very different and quiet without them. An illness took a toll on them and it was quite a while before knowing what was really going on - they really wouldn't tell anyone it was a shock to most that they made their transition.

Regardless, I still believe in the idea of holiday cheer and perhaps for many of you now I have this eyar to know what it means to essentially celebrate the holidays alone. I do have a large family to rely on so the holidays won't be me totally alone. At the same time, a quiet home during holidays is very appreciated.

Regardless I always enjoy the festiveness of the holidays and certainly to be able to cook meals that I don't normally eat during the year. Though this year it's just me cooking and eating the food.

Sorry to gross you out but it's time to defrost the chitlins that I had bought from the Dixmoor Meat Market out in Chicago's south suburbs. Chitlins is something I do enjoy eating during the holidays and this dear loved one showed me how to prepare and cook them.

Regardless I don't want reveal too much about who this person was to me as this isn't that kind of blog. I miss her in the worst way and even if she wasn't at home, my only wish is to be able to call her and talk to her one more time.

To be honest in the past I had offered "easter eggs" of close people who I had lost over the years. And given that this blog has been around almost 20 years, I'll leave it up to you to find those two random names mentioned over the years.

I hope if you're enjoy a quite home that you take this holiday season as a time of self-reflection. Hopefully, the next holiday season you take the timeout to celebrate with the people you care about.

Credit: USA Today

Update ✝

 I miss a lot of things from the past month.

Went through a lot from late August onwards. In a period of mourning, lost someone very close to me.

They had gotten very ill, in a very short period and after a rally they finally slipped away. I wish I had spent more time with them during that period. I will miss her dearly! ✝

O.J. Simpson

 Earlier in the past week, the public found out that former football legend & accused double murderer O.J. Simpson had passed away from cancer. The first time I heard about it, I was watching the PBD Podcast while he was speaking with former ESPN personality Sage Steele.

In posts like this it's customary for me to at R.I.P. however in light of his infamy I'm avoiding that. For me, I'm taking no position on whether or not he committed the murder. In my own head a jury of his peers judged him to be not guilty in the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her buddy Ron Goldman.

We could debate - well if it really is a "debate" - whether or not O.J. was guilty of this gruesome murder. IMHO, if he did commit the murder I feel as if his life had unravelled in ways that may signal that perhaps he was part of that. I look at his most recent conviction where he had been sent to prison for robbery in Nevada between 2007 and 2013 when he was released.

On Ben Shapiro they showed clips of him from an interview that never aired on FOX. He discusses in some real detail the murder - I see it was involving his book If I Did It - and his detail seemed too real even if he did call it hypothetical. I see a man who really has difficulty processing what he had done. Another clip showed him joking using a banana like a knife stabbing into the air and mocking the music to the classic film Psycho. Again this just seems like a man unraveling.

Everyone is different for sure, however, killing another human being should take it's toll on anyone. My hope is that if he truly did the crime that at the time of his death he prayed for forgiveness. And however his life unravelled I just hope the first thing that weighed on him was guilt!

When this whole story took place I was still in grade school and making the transition to my high school years. The trial finally concluded during my high school years when my French teacher rolled a TV into the classroom so that we could watch the reading of the verdict. I probably cheered though the case is known for its division along racial lines.

For me in my young head I probably didn't pay much attention to that. It was difficult for me to recognize how someone who was as well-known as O.J. could effectively throw his life away like this. In California, murder either gets you sent to prison for life or they can execute you (California hasn't executed anyone in years, however, they still have the death penalty). 

One of his attorney's on the so-called "dream team" the late Johnnie Cochrane said it best himself years later, Blacks probably cheered because they saw a Black man with money beat the rap. He also stated he'd be sick to his stomach if he learned O.J. had done it. Of course with attorney client privilege I can only wonder if Mr. Cochrane knows the truth himself anyway.

Also I was aware of the racial division of this case. They got the bogey man in former LAPD police detective Mark Fuhrman.  This was at least three years after the L.A. Riots which was the result of a brutal police beating of Rodney King. Perhaps while one segment of the population saw this case for what it was, another seemed to have wanted the "racist" justice system to take a hit by getting O.J. acquitted.

For me, yes I wanted justice to prevail however I wanted O.J. to be innocent. Again I didn't want to believe he'd thrown his life away by doing this. Of course in later years we see how his life had turned out.

In recent years he's shown himself on what he calls "Xworld" formerly Twitter where he rants on things such as sports. He event commented on his health which was one of the last rants he had before his demise was announced on Twitter.

On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.

He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.

-The Simpson Family

— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) April 11, 2024

I would say another thing he just failed to avoid or attract was the spotlight. For me, knowing how this "debate" was still going on after his acquittal I've always wondered why he never could stay low?

In his case I'm most certainly fine with the idea that he asked for forgiveness when the inevitable happens. Who wants to think about that part of life? However again I hope he feels guilt over what happened, I suppose we'll never really know how that whole event went down.

Hospice??? pic.twitter.com/OXLzs9jWO6

— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) February 9, 2024

One sad chapter is over now!  

New Year Renewal!

 This year I've had religion on my mind a lot. I've been watching mostly Catholic church services via YouTube primarily the services at St. Sabina in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the south side. 

I realize there are other Catholic churches I could follow online, however, I gravitated towards St. Sabina because aside from Cardinal Cupich, Father Michael Pfleger is the only Catholic priest of note in Chicago that I know of. And interestingly he was just reinstated to his duties at the St. Sabina Parish because he had been hit with abuse allegations which has been found to be unfounded.

Either way it's been on my mind since at least the fall and I had been looking not just at St. Sabina there is another south side Catholic church Our Lady of Africa I had been watching services there also. That is a bit more traditional compared to St. Sabina.

Now to be honest I'm not a church going man and I'm not always referring to my Bible at home often enough. Perhaps in 2023 that needs to change as I seek the one thing that never happened, I've never been baptized. I've never formally joined a church or declared my faith.

My experience with church going has largely been the Black church. I'm most familiar with the boisterousness of faith at the churches I've been to in my life. And the music, I've been to churches with not just an organist or even a choir they have a full band. I've seen people step and shout if they're feeling the service. And Christianity has developed a diversity of how people express their faith it's wonderful.

However once must find their way. I discovered this YouTube channel recently called the Black Catholic Chick and she talks about how she grew up Catholic attended Catholic schools and got away from the faith for a time. Then once she wanted to believe again she tried a "Black church" and found out that well she was more at home in a Catholic church.

Well great story, but that's not my story. My story is where would I feel at home. I suppose for rather superficial reasons I like to do things differently. Being Catholic is different, not necessarily the answer. Though I've come to recognize that quiet meditation as opposed to boisterousness is the right way to go for myself.

With that being said as we are approaching a new year on this day (tomorrow will be 2023) I think one resolution for the next year is to find my faith. Next year is a renewal in a number of ways, however, perhaps spirituality will be one renewal I will seek. So perhaps it's time to start reading and asking questions and getting the answers I need to make my own choices.

Perhaps you might be hearing the stories of a Black male convert to some denomination of Christianity.

Happy New Year! 

ALSO, forgot to note this morning I woke up to the news that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI - he resigned the papacy in 2013 - had passed away. He was said to be battling illness and the news had seemed to be pointing that he was at the end of his life sadly. In fact he was the first Pope that I had seen installed as he succeeded Pope John Paul II in 2005. And of course his current successor is the currently serving Pope Francis.

2006

 I'm making a connection between 2020 and 2006. That's a 14-year gap between two different elections and two entirely different set of circumstances.

I don't know why but 2020 didn't freak me out, however, 2006 had. We see in 2022 that the wrong man is in office, he's barely functioning in office right now. He saw a ghost when the Easter bunny got his attention and directed him away from the crowd at the White House. He can't help but make embarrassing gaffes and caused even a star NHL player to chuckle. He just seems out of his depth and worse still people begin to make references to his advanced age. After all Joe Biden is 79 years old!

So what happened in '20 well coronavirus. The pandemic and the economic fallout from the pandemic economic shut down. It was self-induced and any allegations of voter fraud aside the public decided President Trump needed to go.

For my sensibilities he was the only strong leader we had. Can you believe a man who largely stayed in his basement during the campaign and barely energized voter enthusiasm can be a strong leader? Well I didn't believe it then and he's showing it now. I'm sure a few of those 81 million voters who cast a ballot for "Let's go Brandon" realize Trump was a better President.

So anyway what's with the 2006 election? Why am I bringing that up?

Like 2006, this year '22 is an election year. And 16 years ago we had to decide whether or not then incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich should have a second term. A blogger who follows Illinois politics such as John Ruberry just knew for sure that then state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka would become the first female governor this great state. Instead it wasn't even close! 

I also just knew that this state knew that Blago was a crook who just wasn't serious about being Governor, however,  he just had that personality that was perfect for politics. It just seemed as if he wasn't that interested in day-to-day governing. Just knew that the public saw this and would put into his place someone who would run this state.

Well what was going on in 2006, well that was a wave year as it turned out. I was still going through Morehouse at the time, majoring in Political Science and it sort of caught be off guard. Perhaps I wasn't really paying much attention to this at the time.

There was no pandemic or even race riots or even an economic shut down back then. There was an ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan which was proving unpopular. For the first time since 1994 the Democrats regained control of both houses of the U.S. Congress and it wasn't like their meager hold on control of Congress in 2020. So it seemed as if whatever energy in the election was going towards the Democrats and it went on down the ballot. It helped Blagojevich and perhaps it hurt the late great Topinka.

Either way little did we know that over two years after his re-election Blago would be arrested at his home by the FBI he would be removed from office halfway through his second term. He also became yet another Illinois Governor who would have to serve time in federal prison.

Anyone who felt freaked out over the 2016 election - REEEEEEEEE - well I felt just about the same in 2006 when Blago won re-election. How could this state be so willing to re-elect a man who was bad at his job and so crooked?

And some voters asked how after election the first Black president we weren't so willing to election the first woman president and instead elected a misogynist and racist to office. To that I don't know what to say, in 2006, 2016 and 2020 the voters had spoken and cast their ballot based on whatever info they had. However between 2006 and 2020 we see the results ultimately.

So while we could get upset over one year's election results at least now in '22 and '24 we have two opportunities to right the direction of now only the state of Illinois, also of these United States. So I no longer freak out, just recognize that there will be another election and hopefully the voters will make a different choice in the next one.

And I just want to offer that in '22 current IL Gov. J.B. Pritzker is up for a second term. This race was just mentioned on the Ingraham Angle and it could be this years election to follow. However, I'm a long way from predicted whether or not Gov. Pritzer will secure a second term. Blagojevich is so far the last incumbent Governor to secure that feat although we also saw how that worked out. 

Should the 45th POTUS return to twitter?

 Well here's one hope of many on the right if industrialist Elon Musk is successful in his bid to buy out Twitter. Could former President Donald J Trump regain his twitter account which was permanent banned and suspended not long after that so-called insurrection on January 6, 2021?

If you're asking me, I'm a long way from saying Musk will do the unthinkable and allow President Trump back onto the platform. One thing I will say we were discussing Twitter a lot more when Trump wrote his mean tweets.

I feel as if you allow representatives from repressive regimes from around the world such as the Taliban to use this very public and important platform then why keep a former President off? And as my own complain with censorship you come up with excuses to de-platform someone like the former President who although he lost the election he was still the sitting President.

I feel as if Twitter hasn't been making the news as it has been since Trump was permanently banned from the platform. If nothing else Musk put that platform right back on the news lately.

If I do hear anything about Twitter in recent months it might be something wrestling related or perhaps some controversy I found out from some conservative or a Twitter critic I do follow. Usually when it comes to the controversy there might be a note of a meltdown from what is said to be Twitter's core audience - a progressive left liberal.

You know would Elon Musk be attempting to buyTwitter had they not bumped Donald Trump off the platform? Beyond allowing him back on, this is something worth pondering.

January 6, 2021 - an opinionated blog post

 I don't feel like linking to any news stories. If you want news stories go to my twitter feed @Levois as I shared a number of tweets about what happened today. It has left me dismayed at the state of America.

I don't care who stormed the U.S. Capitol today it could be white supremacists, BLM, Antifa, Proud Boys, etc. they need to go to jail. This is being called anything from a riot to a coup d'etat. America thanks to this pandemic has gone in a weird direction and now I wonder where do we go from here.

We're going through a rough time, this isn't the first time and sadly it won't be the last. I don't want to point the fingers at Republicans nor Democrats, I won't even point the finger at our President. We're in the situation we're in for a reason unfortunately.

Yes perhaps Americans think the system has failed them and want to make this right somehow. And unfortunately we got Americans who want a violent overthrow of the system. I don't know where we go from here, however, so far I see America just hasn't settled down yet.

I'm even more concerned for the future...

Happy Holidays and taking a short break

 I'm going to take Xmas Eve and Xmas Day off from this blog. I will also take New Years Eve and New Years Day off from this blog. As I tweeted last nite, sometimes you just have to unplug. Of course I won't entirely unplug things are still going on around the world.

Perhaps you may be paying attention to my long running blog, I'm thinking Xmas is a good time for a holiday there. You got to unplug sometimes.

— Levois J (@levois) December 23, 2020

2020 has been the wildest year in the world in memory, I think only 2001 was wild. However the events that took place just about 20 years ago doesn't compare to the weirdness of '20. The pandemic, the unrest, and unfortunately this election.

I had predicted to a college classmate in '16 that whoever won that race would lose in '20. And while I'm just not happy about it, that seems to have come to pass this year. My frame of reference for that was the mudslinging between Hillary Clinton and Trump. With the situations that have come to pass this year I'm pretty sure Clinton wouldn't have gotten a second term even with help from the media, the same media who's continually attacked Trump and he in turn attacked them.

On the other hand things were humming along until coronavirus and these lockdowns and I knew Trump would have a harder time. Of course there were other things I factored in including the riots over the summer and the measures taken for the election owing to the pandemic. So I should've anticipated how weird things were going to be in November and we're still processing.

BTW, I just need to share this with you now I'm seeing something about Georgia legislators attempting to decertify the results of the 2020 presidential election there. While its hope for those who don't want Biden to take office next month, I don't know if this gambit will take off. I think there are a few moving parts that won't cooperate in that. However, time will tell as the US Congress will still count all electoral votes on January 6, '21.

So, I just wanted to add that I had been planning on writing a post about the 2006 election. If '20 was rough on voters or even '16, '06 was rough on me. Probably in those latter elections a foregone conclusion went sideways and likely due to some intervening events.

In '06 I didn't really recognize this at the time, but it was a wave year. The Iraqi war wasn't going very well and that went down the ballot and voters decided to vote Democrat. Democrats regained control of both houses of Congress for the first time since the early 1990s. Nancy Pelosi made history as the first woman Speaker of the US House of Representatives.

For me in that year I paid attention to two races. I wanted Rod Blagojevich out of the governor's office and thought perhaps Illinois would elect the late Judy Baar Topinka in his stead. They didn't, if I recall that race was called very early that evening on election day. Topinka then the state treasurer didn't have a chance, was it because of the wave year? Yeah I do think so, Blago as a great campaigner though a terrible governor likely took advantage of this.

Another race locally that I kept an eye on was for Cook County Board President well the choices there weren't as clear cut. Basically the incumbent was named John Stroger and a short time before the '06 primary he suffered a health issue and was incapacitated. There was some Weekend at Bernie's type things going on around him but ultimately he needed to be taken off the ballot and in his stead was his son Todd Stroger.

I'm sure the argument at the time to justify this nepotism was the white folks were getting away with this type of thing so why shouldn't we do it. Stroger - probably similarly to other attempts at handing off an elected office to a close relative - was simply not a remarkable public servant. He had served in the Illinois House of Representatives and as a Chicago Alderman and I don't recall much from him. He wasn't visible though perhaps for some politicos that was perfect because it's not always good to make waves in that world.

Well his opponent was Republican Tony Peraica - who was a suburban Cook County Commissioner. I was all in on him, but as it turned out '06 was a bad year. And I will bet that Black voters went all in on Stroger handing him his legendary father's old office which he would hold for only one term. Todd was often lauded for his finance acumen, however, unlike Blago he just didn't have great political skill.

We all know what happened with Blago he gets re-elected and perhaps two years after his re-election he would be arrested by the FBI, impeached and removed from office. Then he went to trial twice as the first trial resulted in a mistrial and the second trial resulted in him getting a long sentence. That sentence was commuted earlier this year and you might find him on Newsmax talking about Democrat politics.

I just gave you a taste of what I wanted to write about but never got it down to my satisfaction.

Meanwhile I hope you all enjoy your holidays. In these trying times I hope you make it a good one.

To make a change

From my experience, however, small making a change is hard. In my case, changing jobs especially if you're the one handing in your two-week notice is a tad scary. It's very easy to give in to a comfort level and stay in one place. It especially easy if you know the environment and what to expect, however, sometimes to take the risk and so something different is what's necessary.

It's been a few years since I've listened to WBBM-AM regularly and I know the voice of Felicia Middlebrooks. To see her open letter on WBBMs website about her decision to leave her position at the radio station gives me some good vibes. Perhaps that letter is for anyone who decides that it's time to do something different and to take steps to move forward.

If I read her letter correctly she''s been with WBBM-AM for 36 years. And at some point she went back to school and got an MBA, she also mentioned she got a degree in film. So that's certainly an indication how committed she is to making a change in her life.

Not to make more of Middlebrooks' change if she spent many years on the radio and made moves to do something different, what's our excuse. Some of us want to do something different and don't know how all it takes is a start.

For me personally I've been desiring to return to school and especially to open up the possibilities as far as jobs for example. All it takes is to make the necessary moves and get started for example going back to school.

As already stated making a change is hard. It's really scary to take a chance and hoping for the best. For those of you who are in that boat as Middlebrooks' I hope for the best for you all! 

How did I do in February?

Well I hit my goal of writing the amount of posts to the number of days in February. Could I have finished off stronger yeah? However, I can at least say that I wrote about 29 posts last month even though this year February only had 28 days.

That last post talking about Black History Month was quite week but that got me to 29 posts last month. What will March bring is to be determined, although I struggled to get to 29 posts. This month has 31 days, even with taking Sunday's off could I write at least 31 posts? Time will tell on that.

Updates for February

This month my goal is to fit at least a whole month of posts. So this is February so I can shoot for at least 28, but who knows perhaps you might see at least 30 or so posts here. It's been a while since this blog can claim so many posts during any given month here.

As it happens there may be a break perhaps only Sundays for the most part. That's what I did last month at www.sixthward.us took Sunday off and took a few days off around New Year's. And at that published 35 posts there last month. Found things to post about too.

What helped? Chris Kennedy - who's running for the Democrat nomination for Illinois governor - made comments about Strategic Gentrification. Then there were the issues regarding President Obama's library. Finally a story regarding a shooting in Chicago's Burnside neighborhood.

What will help me keep up my pace for posting in February? Time will tell although bear in mind this is also Black History Month and I already wrote one post about that on Friday.

In the New Year

Thinking about a new project and perhaps it may have a populist message. Let's just say I have no idea if it would ever resonate but it's something different at least for me. Just expressing some feelings that's in keeping with the populism that ushered Trump into the White House.

May start local and then tackle some other subjects. It could be a form of nationalism, but it could also be just bringing attention to something. There are things worth pointing out and for years here on this blog and also at The Sixth Ward I've been showing things worth attending to.

Regardless I'm working on a new creative direction. I may not be entirely successful, but over the years as a blogger the platform has been built. In 2018, my goal is to find ways to extend the reach of this platform. Let the chips fall where they may!

Saw #JusticeLeague this evening

[VIDEO] I'm going to let John Campea do more talking about this movie. If I had seen the above video before seeing the 6 PM show I'd know what he was mostly talking about.

Since the start of the DC extended universe in 2013 with Man of Steel it seems the new series of films had starts in fits and starts. Man of Steel was OK there were some parts of the movie that threw me and basically they killed off Zod from Kryton so early.

Now I liked Batman vs. Superman though the whole film wasn't that good. Batman to me stole the show though in reading other reviews many had a serious issue with Batman as a cold killer. The Dark Knight or Caped Crusader showed he was a bad man in facing down the hoodlums of Gotham and Superman. It was a bit goofy how using Martha - the name of both Clark's mother & Bruce Wayne's - stopped the epic fight between DC Comics two most iconic superheroes.

I also liked Suicide Squad also problem is they threw in the Joker. I recognize that they threw in the Joker because Harley Quinn was in it - because she's been introduced to the main DC universe and is no longer exclusive to the DC animated universe. The first part seemed to have been humming along, the second half well I didn't get it. And again we get a glimpse of Batman & The Flash with a special appearance by Bruce Wayne near the end seeking to provide Amanda Waller cover.

The next movie changed the direction of the DC extended universe, Wonder Woman. Using the Great War (The first World War) was a nice touch that worked and contrasted with the canonical second World War origins of the superheroine. She fought the German Empire as easily as she fought the Nazi's Third Reich. It was quite an introduction especially if her introduction into Batman v. Superman wasn't as satisfying.

Finally we have the long awaited Justice League. Ah the Easter eggs I want to talk about we seem some hints of other DC super heroes in this one though nothing from them yet - and yes there will be other movies about these other characters. It was great to see Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg interact with each other. At first there was some hostility, then eventually they came together to fight a common antagonist. We even see a certain superhero who died in Batman vs. Superman return to finish the fight.Yeah I know a bit of a spoiler but if you've been paying attention to the trailers you already know Superman is coming back.

Just like Wonder Woman, the audience applauded and I missed the scene after the credits. There was a mid-credits scene that I saw, however, since I was at the movies far later than usual it was time for me to go. I may go see this film one more time to see this final scene. Although they could've ended this with the mid-credits scene which was very satisfying...and the audience also applauded that!

BTW, DC extended universe films aren't known for these end credits scene are they stealing a trick out of the page of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? I could like without it though only provided if they advance the story of the DC universe.

Also, I've never caught a midnight show, however, I've noticed over the years that they have slowly fallen out of favor. Basically if a blockbuster is expected to come out on Friday - in general - you can be amongst the first to catch it starting at 6 PM on Thursday. Of course this depends upon the venue where you seek to watch the movie. All the same I enjoyed this experience although a long way from saying this is something to do again. Perhaps for the right movie - the right geeky movie!

Go see Justice League, it gets a thumbs up from me!

#JusticeLeague is a winner not bad for watching the first showings of this film. Excellent! 👍🏾 pic.twitter.com/4RECjsI3wb

— Levois J (@levois) November 17, 2017

Have I ever had a "red pill" moment?

Ernest Duffo

I'm a long way from saying there was a "red pill" moment in my past. I seemed to have come across relatively conservative or right of center political beliefs rather early - well at least by the time I was in high school. Still there is not that one moment that caused me to flip, it could be instinctual.

There is one red pill moment to point on from my life and it involves education. To be honest I really hated going to school. While I didn't really have many friends back then that was the only thing I looked forward to was seeing my friends. It was a routine that I had grown used to.

Regardless I hated it primarily because - as I later began to realize - it was something I had to do. There was no choice for me in the matter whether by law or expectation of the parents. I had to endure public education and all the trials & tribulations. For the most part I didn't enjoy it!

The bias & strict discipline of teachers. In fact my teachers back in grammar school still performed some form of corporal punishment and in front of students to their delight it seems. One of the teachers I had in school - one I still respect - had little problem throwing around the idea of a whoopin. While I never saw him engage in it, he was of that school himself.

Of course the idea of school is socialization and I hated that. Kids can be quite cruel to other kids - not that I'm exempting myself I participated in some of it admittedly. Still there was some of that going on for the slightest of issues body odor, fashion, grades, income, etc. It took me years to realize the many issues that many of my peers may have had at home and yet it got magnified when they came to school. For the most part they had to find a way to deal with it because it was what it was to the adults.

The real red-pill moment was when I finally arrived in the 8th grade it was the end of my time in elementary school and part of this story was taking a test for the US and state constitutions. I had a teacher who I now believe was a union shill. He didn't mind telling us that we better hope the Republicans don't get elected. Back in those days perhaps it was a fear of many teachers that Republicans in power meant cuts to public education. More than likely the fear was more about them losing their jobs or at least that's what I concluded years later.

Little did this man know that with our studies on the constitution he merely woke me up to our political system and it was something I was going to study at Morehouse College years later. If he wanted to create another generation of reliable voters to his cause, he caused me to go in another direction politically. Probably wasn't a goal of his, but my goal wasn't necessarily to just blindly go along with what he or anyone else said.

Although there are other examples in my time with public education of things that were wrong, he later became one example. His attempt at politicking was one example. Another example was holding up his wad of cash as an example of "economic slavery". Me being a dumb silly kid back in the 8th grade contrasted with his seriousness as a teacher. I realize now that he didn't entirely care for me and certainly in far more subtle ways made clear what his feelings were of me to my parents.

He may have had his fans and I wasn't one for sure. However, IMHO he probably didn't have the temperament to be a teacher. Though for sure he had a stable job until the day he chooses to retire and with a generous pension that he's surely living on today. Regardless if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have the interest in politics which is one of the many subjects you'll see on my many blogs to this day.

Now as far as education, I have no children. I'm definitely a long way from knowing the pulse of public education. When I do have children my goal is to find the best schools for my children because even though education is considered an entitlement, a great education is a privilege and something worth fighting for. It's not up to the school system it's really up to parents as they have to provide for their children. Though I do recognize not all parents share those same desires of insuring their children gets a great education.

All the same, that is one possible red pill moment for me. One party or the other doesn't entirely hold the key for funding public education. If someone is concerned about that issue it's really about their livelihoods. Also it's possible to inspire opposition more so thatn instant support...

Sometimes I should cover other subjects

There had been a lot of news in the past week that gets me down. To start Chicago lost the nation's largest Black-owned bank with Seaway Bank. The name remains but now it's under Indian-American ownership as of late last month. What a crappy way to start off Black history month, but that's business for you.

At my other blog, sixthward.us I've been all over this development. In fact so far since Trump was inaugurated last month the posts have largely traded between Trump stories - especially his responses to news about Chicago gun violence - and any news or opinion about Seaway Bank.

This is what I tweeted over the weekend that if blogged again I need a mental [health] break. Time to find other things to post about. There are other interests to discuss here on this blog and on the other blogs I operate.

The communites I hoped to cover at sixthward.us has many things to be proud of, especially in the Chatham neighborhood with a strong history of the Black middle class and great architecture. Also a history of entrepreneurship as that was how Seaway was created.

Perhaps here I should find an excuse to take random pictures. Don't know what though I certainly like to take random pics with my iPhone and the olloclip lens.

There's lots of not very good news right now. The nation almost seems like it's tearing itself apart especially with last year's election. Now is the time we can at least take a look at other subjects of great interest and not just political.

This is why I did a post promoting McMansion Hell or the Super Bowl - which the New England Patriots won last night - or even a wrestling match that took place in Japan that could blow out of the water anything you can find in North America. Perhaps I need to take a time out every now and then to explore the best there is out there in the world.

This long running blog...

I started this blog 12 years ago while a student at Morehouse College. It's likely the account to set up this blog was created in a computer lab while at school.

This blog has at times helped me focus on class or has been a needed distraction. Who knows, but over the years it has gotten some significant linkbacks and enabled me to do other projects.

For example I briefly wrote for the now defunct Gaper's Block on their political section. I also wrote for a time on the statewide Illinoize blog created by Rich Miller which is largely defunct today as well even if there somewhat infrequent posts there now.

Also I should note many of those significant linkbacks came from The Capitol Fax and one came from Instapundit. That was a funny development all the sudden I got the most comments on any post for that day ever and likely the first major series of traffic. And despite trying I never got one again.

This blog somewhat represents how I saw the medium of the world wide web aka the internet. My plan was to explore creating a website and then content people want to see. For example I once had a geocities page, and now that free service is defunct.

Blogging had been around in some form since I had been a senior in high school. In fact this service I used Blogger had been around that long. One minor problem, I knew nothing about it for a number of years until I went away to school or indeed discovered other blogs written by everyday people. More accurately, I found out about Blogger playing around on Protest Warrior.

After 12 years I'm still glad people want to read this "soapbox". This is my space to express my opinion even if many choose to disagree with it and they're free to. As long as I can continue to come up with content this space will be where you will see it.

In addition it inspired me to set up other blogs for different subjects. For example, The Sixth Ward is largely devoted to neighborhood and city/state politics. Also there is the Shedd School blog which has a similar purpose and still looking for a comfortable direction for that blog. Still both are locally centered and this blog hopefully will look at more general topics.

Either way I hope you all have a wonderful and restful MLK Jr. holiday which is the day this post is both written and published. :)

Another job hunting anniversary coming up...

We're approaching an anniversary of sorts this month. I noted another anniversary which involved an interview which turned into a bust. To be honest, it frustrated me even in spite of all that happened afterwards. It was a dodged bullet, but it was frustrating because it seemed like a give me and it didn't happen.

Fast forward to two years later and my frustration was less about that opportunity and more about my inability to land a job offer even in several different industries. I'm talking retail, finance, or even entertainment and more frustrating was some interviews were good and still nothing.

Now in 20/20 hindsight perhaps I failed to connect. The interviews where I did get the job typically it seemed they were interested in my education to start. Probably some other aspects too, but basically the signals were there. In some cases the interview went well but it seemed the interviewer was ready to get me out of there with not much of a proper appreciative gesture.

Anyway I had one interview which tickled me and why was because it was unexpected. It was a fail to be honest but only because I didn't get it. I consider that at that point it was time for me to leave the job, but was it in my best interest to remain in that industry for that time. Oh yeah that industry was entertainment - film exhibition movie theaters.

The seminal interview that began that odd streak of rejections was for management and so was this interview. It was not at the start or even midpoint, but at the end as it turned out when I finally did get a job offer.

I never expected to be a candidate to be a manager at another movie theater chain and this would have provided the growth I had been looking for. I basically winged this interview which is truly not the best idea, but it was unusual in that well the folks who I had interviewed with called me from another state. I went into this with interest but I was like wtf. Learned later on that this is what they do so I was semi prepared but not totally.

I gave some good answers to their questions especially one I would like to share and shows where my head was at during that period of time. The question was regarding how would I motivate the workforce. My answer involved rewards knowing that concession revenue is how a theater makes money we want to encourage the workers to consistently upsell and suggestive sell. I never offered any details although in my head this would start with monetary rewards.

I felt as if I connected very well with the interviewers, but with the knowledge they've had of my job back then perhaps I realize my iffiness. While I sort of obsessed over this opportunity, now perhaps I'm glad it didn't happen. It was time to pursue other opportunities and do something different as happened eventually.

The way I see it now, if I was to break back into that business after going in another direction they key now is to do something different. Get the benefit of working in a different setting or organization and even moving up. The next management interview, I'll have some different ideas and perhaps be a better candidate.

In the meanwhile, I can only wait for the right opportunity. The next opportunity to move up and ahead.

Click here for more employment posts!

Time for some more inventory...

Late last year after seemingly taking to this blog to whine and complain about going on interviews with no new job in site I finally found not just one but two new jobs. Even better I finally got a full-time job which was a long-time in coming and happened at least two months into my new job. It's definitely something I'm very stoked about!

Regardless sometimes I tend to over analyze things and now it's time to consider what my future goals are. Me I've often noted my future goals during some of my interviews and one of those goals are breaking into a leadership role in whatever organizations I work. Then another goal that may or may not happen more than being a manager may be going back to school.

And at that go back to school for what. I've had a long desire to do graduate studies in political science but a friend asked if I had any experience. Aside from doing blogs that often deal with politics I have no real world experience. This blog and The Sixth Ward are just one of many blogs that talks politics whether locally or federally. So it's time to figure that out.

I've thought about law or business school. There are quite a few cases of interested such as one out of Chicago that I got tuned into recently that requires the touch of a lawyer. And of course business granted you don't need to go to school to become an entrepreneur but I've often lamented the fact that in all the years in school I never took any classes in business skills. Meaning no marketing, book keeping or accounting courses. There is this one lone business law class at Morehouse.

Regardless another issue is to figure out how to pay for it. Loans at least until I pay my current students loans off are out of the question for the moment. Hopefully in the future I can make good money and afford tuition.

Other than that time to start thinking about these goals and plan to make them.

Black History Month 2015

Posted recently at the Shedd School blog that same post had been published here. It still are my thoughts on Black history and how to truly observe it. Although yes I did share the ways I would prefer to teach some aspects of Black history.

Hopefully this is advice considered not by adults, but also children as well. Everyone should know their history whatever that might be -  i.e. American, Black, European, etc.